


Cherry Visits the Haunted Mansion

by PerkyGoth14



Category: The Haunted Mansion (2003)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-05 23:34:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 29,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6727849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerkyGoth14/pseuds/PerkyGoth14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cherry's Aunt Sara and Uncle Jim invite her and her friends to come with them to the lake, but before they can go, there is an adventure awaiting them as they are to explore a mansion which is rumored to be haunted to be crawling with ghosts, zombies, and curses.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Atticus was in the kitchen, about to get a snack until suddenly, there was a ringing on his cell phone. He then picked up his phone ans answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey..." a grave voice greeted. "Are you alone?"

"Uh, my sisters are in the living room, why?" Atticus replied. "I'm in the kitchen... Who is this...?"

"Never mind that for now..." the voice said. "Tell me... Do you like scary movies?"

"Yeah, at times." Atticus shrugged.

Suddenly, the lights went out and Atticus only heard a dial tone.

"Hello? Hello!" Atticus called through the phone after he heard Darla scream at the sudden darkness.

"Atticus, are you okay?" Jessica came in, using her cell phone as a source of light as Darla latched onto her, looking very scared and upset at the power outage. "The power just went out..."

"Yeah, I'm okay, but that was really weird, let me see if I can find a flashlight." Atticus said.

"I'll come with you." Patch said, coming in the kitchen.

Atticus luckily found a flashlight and clicked it on. "Come on, boy, let's check out the fuse box."

Patch went with him, then looked back to Jessica and Darla. "Don't worry, we'll have the power back on real soon!"

Darla trembled as she held onto Jessica for security and the older girl comforted her the best that she could, showing her big sister instinct even in her just as well after Atticus was born.

Atticus found the fuse box and gently opened it. "Alright, let's see what we got here."

There were crunching footsteps heard behind the boy and dog.

"Jessica? Darla?" Patch asked. "Is that you?"

There was only heavy breathing heard. Patch shivered and clung closer to Atticus.

"Alright, girls, this isn't funny, come on out..." Atticus sighed, then looked to the window to see Darla and Jessica were still inside the house. "Then who's that...?" he then turned around and shined his flashlight to show a ghoulish clown mask and someone holding a cold, iron blade with dripping red substance from it.

Atticus wasn't impressed by this and neither was Patch. "Really? Dude? A clown mask and a blade?" he then asked in deadpan.

"Atticus, is everything-" Darla walked out, then saw the stranger and screamed so loud that she had tears in her eyes.

Atticus hugged Darla to comfort her. "It's okay, it's okay..."

There was laughter heard as the mask came off, revealing Cherry.

"Lighten up, will ya?" Cherry said between genuine laughs. "It was only a joke!"

"That wasn't cool, Cherry!" Jessica glared.

Cherry fell on the floor and kept laughing. "That was hysterical!"

The family looked to each other and glared to her.

"Oh, man..." Cherry put her glasses back on after she wiped her eyes. "That was such a good one..."

"That wasn't funny, Cherry, you scared me to death!" Darla glared firmly.

Cherry snorted and kept laughing. "I'm sorry, but you should've seen your face..."

Atticus simply ignored her and turned the power to the house back on.

Cherry kept laughing, then settled down. "Oh, that was good..."

Darla lowly growled to Cherry, folding her arms at the perky goth.

"All right, all right, I'm going," Cherry stood up. "I came to give an invitation."

"To what, dare I ask?" Jessica asked her younger brother's best friend.

"My Uncle Jim and Aunt Sara are checking out a house before they go to the lake and they invited me to come along with them and their kids," Cherry explained. "You guys can come too, unless you're scared... Even Forte seems spooked of that place, can't imagine why... He says there's a story within it, but I never listened. Something about a woman named Elizabeth."

"I'll come." Atticus said.

"Me too." Patch agreed.

"You two gonna come too, or are you scared?" Cherry smirked to Jessica and Darla.

Jessica firmly put her hands on her hips. "I'll drive them, but if you do any tricks again, I swear..."

"No more tricks, I promise, just treats..." Cherry laughed innocently until something grabbed her ankle from the ground and she screamed.

Darla screamed again and clung onto Jessica.

Patch sniffed the hand that grabbed Cherry and sighed. "Drell, come on out..."

The hand let go of Cherry and the pointer finger zapped, which made the warlock come out from the ground, wearing white make-up with dripping red paint and gruesome green splatters to look like a zombie.

"Take that make-up off." Atticus said.

Drell wiped his face clean. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you guys."

"You're a little late for that!" Darla glared sharply, then looked to Jessica. "I hate it when they do that."

"I was trying to scare Cherry, I think it worked." Drell smirked as he saw Cherry looking like she was trembling.

"I wasn't scared..." Cherry said as she still shook.

"Then why are you shaking?" Patch asked.

"I'm shivering, because it's cold out here..." Cherry covered up.

"Uh-huh..." Drell said, then took out his wand. "See ya guys, I have to see Enchantra about something."

The others then waved to him as he went off.

"No more scares, no more scares, no more scares..." Darla hoped as she latched onto Jessica, looking scared to death tonight.

"Don't worry, I'm sure all the scares are over with for tonight." Jessica assured her.

"Or are they?!" Cherry grinned darkly, showing a hook like a pirate hook on her hand.

Darla screamed and ran indoors and slammed the door shut and locked it and the windows. Cherry laughed again as she had scared Darla once more.

"Cherry, stop it!" Atticus glared.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Cherry laughed, then took a deep breath. "Oh, man, who knew that she was such a scaredy cat?"

"Cherry! Darla's just a little girl!" Atticus glared.

"Sorry..." Cherry kept laughing, then took a breath.

"Come on, Patch." Atticus told his puppy. "Let's see if we can enjoy the rest of our movie."

Patch nodded and followed him inside the house with a glare to Cherry. "I can't believe you would think a scared little girl is funny!"

"Guys, come on, it's just a joke!" Cherry called. "So, see ya when I visit my relatives?"

The only response she got was the slam of the door.

"Ah, whatever..." Cherry shrugged and walked off. "See ya guys later!"

"That wasn't nice of you to scare your friends like that, Cerise..." Forte came behind her.

"Hey, it was just a joke..." Cherry ignored him as she kept walking along back home.

"You'll have to learn your lesson the hard way." Forte said.

"What, you're gonna make me spend two hours with you after school instead of one now?" Cherry glanced back at him.

"No, besides, I think that mansion will be more of a perfect punishment than my punishment for you." Forte said before leaving her.

"Oh, how bad could it be?" Cherry shrugged. "I think it looks awesome, the only ones who'll really be scared are Aunt Sara's kids."

"You'll see what I mean when you, Atticus, Mo, and Patch get there." Forte said.

"Okay..." Cherry shrugged and walked off. "I used to be scared to death of you."

"I know." Forte answered before going back inside the church.

Cherry glanced at him and came back inside her house as Bud was on the phone with his sister about Cherry coming over for a visit.

"Cherry is excited to come." Bud smiled.

'We're excited to have her,' a female voice replied. 'We haven't seen her since she was a baby.'

"So true, anyway, Sara, I hope that husband of yours doesn't focus too much on the mansion." Bud said.

"I hope so too," Sara sighed to her brother. "He missed our anniversary date, but he promised that we could all have fun with selling this mansion... It looks like something out of a horror movie though, I bet it has an interesting history."

"I bet Cherry will find it a great place for scares." Bud said.

Sara laughed. "That's your daughter, well, I better help Michael and Megan get ready, sorry you can't make it, but thanks for sending Cherry over with some friends."

"No problem, talk to you later." Bud said before hanging up the phone on his sister.

"Was that Aunt Sara?" Cherry asked.

"Yes, it was," Bud smiled back to his daughter. "She's very excited. Are your friends coming?"

"Yeah, I invited Atticus and Patch, knowing Atticus, he's gonna bring Mo," Cherry replied. "I invited Jessica and Darla too, but I don't think they're gonna wanna talk to me for a while."

Bud sighed. "Did you scare them?"

"Yeah..." Cherry laughed a little.

"Cherry, it's not okay to always scare people." Bud said.

"Oh, come on, it was just a joke..." Cherry shrugged innocently. "Besides, I'm in a good mood."

"Why, is it Halloween?" Bud asked.

"Getting there..." Cherry shrugged innocently.

"Just cool it with your jokes, okay?" Bud asked.

"Yes, Daddy..." Cherry muttered.

"Mom will be here in the morning, so I'm gonna make dinner, you want potatoes?" Bud offered.

"Yeah, I'll get my things together while you cook." Cherry nodded to that.

"Great." Bud smiled.

Cherry nodded as she got her things together for when her aunt, uncle, and cousins would be over to take her and her friends to the mansion that her uncle was going to help sell before their trip to the lake. And where this would be an adventure that would help Cherry learn a lesson.

Back at the Fudo house, Atticus and Jessica were telling their parents about Cherry's invitation and visit after the movie was over and Darla was now going to bed as it was late for a girl her age.

"Well, I'm alright with it." Patrick said.

"I don't know..." Emily sounded nervous. "What is this place you're going to exactly?"

"It's just going to be a mansion." Atticus said.

"I saw a creepy mansion when I was a little girl once," Emily said. "I heard that there was this guy who was hopelessly in love with a woman named Elizabeth and she had been poisoned and in return, he hung himself because he couldn't be with her."

"I'm sure that's not the same mansion we'll be going to." Atticus said.

"Oh, I don't know..." Emily rubbed her arm nervously.

"Mom, it'll be okay," Atticus promised. "I promise nothing will happen and I'll call you as soon as we get there."

"Oh... Okay..." Emily smiled. "I guess I'm just not ready for you to grow up."

"All of us grow up someday, Mom." Jessica told her.

"Yeah..." Emily sighed. "Too fast..."

"I didn't think so..." Atticus shrugged.

"You'll understand when you're older," Patrick said. "Anyway, it's fine with me if you go."

"Cool." Patch smiled.

"Alright, it's fine with me too, but promise to call." Emily said.

"I will." Atticus nodded, promising his mother.

Emily smiled to that.

"We'll be sure to use the crystal ball in case we can't get any cell service." Patch said.

"Crystal ball?" Emily asked. "You don't have a crystal ball, Atticus."

Patrick whistled innocently.

"Patrick, did you give Atticus his own crystal ball?" Emily asked suspiciously.

"Um... You make that sound like a bad thing..." Patrick smiled sheepishly to his wife.

"No, it's a smart thing." Emily smiled.

"Sorry I didn't tell you," Patrick replied. 'It's more of a Wiccan Witch thing... No offense of course..."

"That's alright..." Emily gently patted him on the head.

"Just don't use Leota's crystal ball, that's an ugly sight..." Patrick shuddered as he remembered a certain someone who was really nitpicky about her crystal ball being touched without permission.

"Leota?" Atticus and Patch asked.

"She was an old friend of my grandparents," Patrick replied. "She helped this young man named Zeke Holloway against the Order of the Shadows and she gave him a lantern called the Beacon of Souls. He was a very cowardly mortal who applied to become a caretaker for what was believed to be a haunted mansion, but thanks to Leota, he saved the conquest of the afterlife."

"She must be really old if she knew your grandparents." Patch whispered to Atticus.

"She often preformed seances." Patrick added in.

"Isn't that someone that can speak to people from the dead?" Atticus asked.

"That's what you do at a seance." Emily replied.

"Yeah, Leota believed she could have contact with all sorts of supernatural creatures and see into the future like an Oracle." Patrick stated.

"So then, where is she now?" Atticus asked.

"I haven't seen her since I met your mom..." Patrick said softly. "Since she knew your grandparents, she could be... Dead..."

"Oh, my..." Atticus frowned.

"I'm afraid so..." Patrick frowned back. "I haven't seen her since she applied for a job to work at a home for someone..."

"I'll be sure to call her if she can still reply from the dead." Atticus said.

"Good luck with that." Emily replied softly.

"Anyway, just make sure you call us through your crystal ball." Patrick said.

"Will do." Atticus nodded.

"This should be an interesting experience." Patch scratched behind his ear.

"Yes, yes, it will," Atticus nodded. "Anyways, I better hit the weights before heading off to bed."

"Okay, good night, honey." Emily hugged her son and kissed his forehead.

"Night, son." Patrick ruffled up his son's hair.

Atticus smiled to them and went upstairs with Patch following him as always.

Emily yawned ready to get to bed before yelping a bit before giggling as she saw that her husband had lifted her up with his incredible strength thanks to their son. "Oh, Patrick~"

Patrick smirked to his wife as he carried her off to their bedroom.

"You are becoming quite the strong man." Emily smirked.

"Then I better show off my strength and muscles before we go to sleep." Patrick smirked back.

"Oh, my." Emily giggled very flirty toward her husband.

"Good thing I used my magic to make some dumbbells appear in our room so heavy that only me or someone as strong as me or Atticus could lift up." Patrick smiled as he placed his wife on their bed once they were inside their bedroom.

"Oh, yes, indeed..." Emily hoisted herself up and crossed her legs once she was on the bed. "Tell me more, my personal muscleman."

Patrick bent down and grabbed one of his dumbbells and began to grunt while lifting it up just for show for his wife while his muscles would flex. Emily giggled like a shy school girl as she was entertained and very excited about the little show that was given to her. She was entertained even more as her husband began to bend the dumbbell into a loop.

"You like that?" Patrick smirked.

"Uh-huh." Emily giggled.

"Wanna see more?" Patrick asked.

"Do I?!" Emily grinned eagerly.

Patrick brought out a 30,000 ton dumbbell and began to bend it so much he even bent it in half. Emily giggled and cooed to her husband.

"I guess I'm getting stronger every day, just like Atticus." Patrick said.

"Yeah, but I like it better in you..." Emily knelt with a flirty smile. "It makes me think of how we first met and you were just the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on."

"That was the day I met the most gorgeous and wonderful woman in the world." Patrick smiled back.

"Oh, Patrick~" Emily squealed and giggled.

There was then a knocking heard from the other side of the wall.

"Hey, are you guys gonna sleep or what?!" Darla called. "Some of us are actually trying to sleep!"

"Okay, okay, we're going to sleep." Patrick smiled.

Emily giggled. Darla was then heard lightly snoring in her bedroom. Emily and Patrick then kissed each other as they cuddled in their bed before falling asleep together.

Atticus, on the other hand, was lifting his weights to keep up his strength and where he put up a barrier so then Darla or anyone else wouldn't be disturbed.

Drell poked his head out the window with a grin. "Hi, Georgie."

Atticus glanced at him. "What's up?"

"Oh, nuthin' much, just heard you were going to the creepiest mansion in all of history." Drell smirked.

"Wait, you mean that mansion that Mom and Dad talked about?" Atticus asked.

"Mm-hmm~" Drell nodded. "Your friend's uncle is in a heap of trouble... Who does he think he is."

"Jim Evers of Evers and Evers Real Estate," Atticus phrased his friend's uncle business catchphrase. "Maybe you've heard of them?"

"Whoever he is, he's a fool," Drell replied. "That house is haunted and I'm not just saying that to be scary. There are ghosts, ghouls, and zombies amuck!"

"So the mansion we're going to really is haunted?" Atticus asked.

"Believe me, don't go to that house," Drell warned. "Ramsley's in that house."

"Ramsey?" Atticus asked. "You mean like the chef on TV who has a fowl mouth?"

Drell shook his head. "Not Chef Ramsey, but trust me, Atticus, this is serious."

"Well, you never lied to me before..." Atticus crossed his arms.

"Sorry, Drell, but we already promised Cherry we would come along." Patch said.

"Then I'm coming too," Drell said. "And I'm guessing Mo will also come."

"I'm sure she'll go if I go." Atticus smiled.

"Of course she will." Drell said.

Atticus smiled a little.

"Uh-Oh." Drell smirked.'

"What?" Atticus asked.

"You like her..." Drell teased.

"Of course I like her, I proved my love for her in the True Love Test, remember?" Atticus asked while blushing.

"Ooh, you love her even more than you use to." Drell smirked.

"Uh... Well..." Atticus turned even redder.

Drell chuckled, then smiled proudly. "Well, I'm glad you found yourself someone, she's perfect for you, she's been waiting for someone like you for a long time."

"S-She has?" Atticus smiled blushing brighter while without knowing it bending a dumbbell into the shape of a heart.

"Oh, yeah," Drell sat on the edge of the boy's window sill. "She's been with other guys before, but they were either total jerks or real idiots, that's why she was so rough on ya when you all first met if you remember."

"Really?" Atticus asked. "Was this before she joined the Junkyard Dogs with Angel?"

"A little in between," Drell waved his hand. "When you've had a life like Mo, you see a lot of people and living on the streets can be a rough life to go through."

"I can tell from experience from two days." Atticus said.

"Yeah, just be lucky she didn't kill you from sneaking up on her and Angel on the streets that one night you all first met." Drell replied. "Mo might not be able to fight the Huns like in Ancient China, but she's pretty good at defending herself."

"Trust me, I know," Atticus smiled. "And so am I."

"Oh, I know you are..." Drell replied. "You remind me of me when I was younger and met Hilda."

"Cool." Atticus smiled.

"And you'll soon be taught by Goku." Drell said.

"Goku?" Atticus asked.

"I'm sure you've heard of a little something called 'Dragon Ball Z'." Drell prompted.

"Yeah, I have, so Goku and the rest of the Z fighters really are real?" Atticus smiled.

"Yep, he could even teach you to fly," Drell smiled. "In fact, how's about after this mansion experience, I take you to them myself?"

"Alright!" Atticus cheered.

Drell chuckled at his excitement in a good way. "You got yourself a deal."

"Yes, yes, I do," Atticus said. "I'll want Goku to teach me everything."

"Well, I better get going, good night, Atticus." Drell said.

"Good night, Drell." Atticus nodded to him.

Drell teleported out of the Fudo house and entered a different dimension.

There was a young adult man with spiky and wavy black hair in an orange and blue uniform who looked very strong. "Who goes there?"

"Hey, Goku," Drell walked over to the man. "I have someone who would very much like to meet you."

"Is this person strong?" Goku smiled.

"Yes, but he'll need to learn a lot more, such as energy blasts and how to fly without using magic." Drell said.

"I see..." Goku said.

"He has to take care of something with his friends first, but I promised him that right after that, he could come visit." Drell replied.

"I'd be happy to teach him." Goku smiled.

"I knew you'd agree," Drell smiled back. "He's like a son to me."

"Well if that's so, then he might be a handful." Goku chuckled.

"Mm-hmm..." Drell rolled his eyes to that, but then smiled. "So it's agreed upon then?"

"Yep." Goku smiled.

"He's stronger than me and getting stronger, but could still use someone to teach him and possibly-" Drell said.

"Train/spar with him?" Goku finished his sentence with a smirk.

"Um, yeah..." Drell chuckled sheepishly.

"I'd be happy to, besides, then he can possibly witness how heavy the gravity on King Kai's world is." Goku smiled.

"Let's just wait and see." Drell smiled back.

"Yes, we will." Goku smiled.

"Good boy." Drell ruffled up his hair.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Atticus, Cherry, Patch, and Drell were ready for the trip and where even Mo was ready. 

"I hope Jim and Sara be careful," Michelle said to her husband. "It's going to rain later tonight."

"I'm sure they'll be just fine." Bud said.

"Cherry, are you ready up there?!" Michelle called upstairs.

"Yeah, I'll come down when Aunt Sara and Uncle Jim drive up!" Cherry called back.

They then heard a honking sound from a vehicle from outside, telling them that the people Cherry was waiting for were there. 

"That must be them." Michelle said.

Bud nodded and decided to go see his sister before Cherry would come down who got all of her stuff and started to make her way downstairs.

"Got everything?" Michelle asked her daughter.

"Yep, I triple checked." Cherry nodded.

"Good." Michelle nodded as her daughter was then on her way out the door.

Bud and Sara hugged each other with laughs as they hadn't seen each other in a long time.

"It's been so long, Bud, how've you Michelle and Cherry been?" Sara asked.

"Oh, we're fine, thank you," Bud smiled back. "Cherry's been a little sneaky lately though, but at least she's happy."

"Really? Halloween must be close by then." Sara giggled, knowing and remembering the only times her niece would smile.

"Oh, yeah, you can count on that." Bud chuckled.

"Well, at least she's bringing some friends along with her." Sara smiled.

"Yeah." Bud agreed.

Cherry walked over and looked up to her aunt.

"Hi, Cherry!" Sara hugged her niece. "So good to see you again."

Cherry gave a polite nod of her head and she put her stuff in the trunk of the car as two younger kids were watching her from the backseat of the car.

"Let's just hope that you didn't invite too many friends to come with." Jim said to Cherry.

"I think Atticus said his sister would drive him, his dog, and his girlfriend and they're gonna follow your car, Uncle Jim." Cherry replied to her aunt's husband.

"Whew, that's good." Jim smiled.

"Yeah, when they ride up and you meet them, we'll get going." Cherry replied.

"Michael, Megan, come out and meet your cousin." Sara encouraged her hiding children.

"Alright." Megan sighed.

Michael looked nervous, but came out with his older sister.

"Hello." Cherry looked to her younger cousins.

"Hey." Megan waved.

"Um... Hi..." Michael blinked.

"Well, this is fascinating..." Cherry deadpanned as there was rarely any conversation going on between her and her younger cousins.

"So, you ready?" Megan asked.

"As I'll ever be..." Cherry shrugged. "We have to wait for my friends first." 

"Are they scary as you are?" Michael asked.

Cherry glanced at him. "Me? Scary?"

"S-Sorry, you just look kind of scary." Michael said.

Cherry rolled her eyes to that, then looked out for Jessica's car since she was going to bring Atticus, Mo, and Patch. And where to her surprise, the one that was driving was actually Drell. "What... The...?"

The horn honked loudly.

Drell rolled down the window and smiled. "Surprise!"

"Oh, what's his name again?" Bud struggled. "Django? Dilbert?"

"Drell." Michelle told her husband.

"Yeah, that." Bud said then.

"Drell, what are you doing here?" Cherry asked through her teeth.

"What, can't I come along for the ride?" Drell smirked innocently.

"Where is Jessica?" Cherry sounded desperate. "Atticus said specifically that she was going to drive him, Patch, and Mo, NOT YOU!"

"After what you did last night, do you really think she would still come?" Drell asked.

"Oh, come on, it was a harmless prank..." Cherry defended.

Drell gripped her collar with a smirk. "So's this... From Jessica to you..."

Cherry chuckled nervously.

Drell let go of her then. "Can we get a move on or what?" he then asked. "I hear there's rain in the forecast."

"Yeah." Atticus nodded.

"Are you guys ready to go then?" Cherry asked Jim and Sara.

"Ready as we'll ever be." Sara said.

"Get a move on." Jim agreed.

"Alright," Cherry nodded, then looked to Drell. "Okay, follow Uncle Jim and Aunt Sara's car."

"You got it." Drell said.

Cherry walked over into Jim and Sara's car in the backseat with Michael and Megan. Sara waved with a smile to her brother and sister-in-law as they were now on their way to the house. And where it was going to be a long trip to the mansion. Cherry seemed to fall asleep on the way.

It was a long car trip to the mansion, but they finally made it to the entrance of it.

"Are we still in America?" Megan asked.

"Wow..." Cherry liked the sight of the mansion which looked like something out of a horror movie. 

"Yeah, that's a whole lot of gate," Jim commented. "They must have a big possum problem down here."

"That's some big possum." Michael commented.

"Some people that are rich have gates just like this." Drell told him.

Jim saw no one coming out to greet them, so he honked his horn to get a little attention. "Didn't they know we were coming?" he then asked his wife impatiently.

"Of course they knew." Sara replied. 

"Maybe there's a call box or something." Megan suggested.

"I don't know if they have a call box." Mo said.

Jim rolled down his window and leaned out to call out for someone while honking his horn for some sort of attention. "Hello?! Hello! The Evers are here! We have some company with us! Yes, we're here now!"

"What is going on in there?" Patch wondered. "If they don't answer, then Mr. Evers can't sell the mansion."

"Maybe no one's home." Mo said.

"So what do we do?" Atticus wondered.

Jim unfastened his seat-belt. "Now I got to get out in the dirt with my brand-new shoes on."

Cherry groaned and rolled her eyes at her uncle's obsession with his looks and how brand new everything was, especially with his car. Sara decided to join her husband. Drell decided to go out with them as well. Jim, Sara, and Drell walked up to the front gate.

"How are we gonna get in?" Sara wondered.

"I could break the lock and push the gates open." Drell guessed.

"Or what if you give me a boost, and I'll go around the back?" Jim suggested.

"They're probably old," Sara smiled in slight amusement of her husband's idea. "We'll surprise them. You'll probably kill them."

"Just suggestions." Drell said.

"Let's just go," Sara replied. "It's getting late."

"Besides, they're probably not home." Drell said.

Suddenly, as they were walking away, the gate doors were creaking open behind them.

"Oh, sure, why not?" Drell asked, annoyed overhearing the gates opening.

"All right, we're in business," Jim clapped his hands together excitedly. "Let's go, let's go, let's do this!"

Sara found the gates opening by themselves after they were about to leave rather creepy. She got back into the car with her husband as Drell went back to Atticus, Mo, and Patch so they could drive to the front doors of the eerie mansion. Thunder was heard rumbling in the distance as gray clouds started to roam the skies. 

"I suddenly have a bad feeling about this." Atticus said.

"Me too..." Patch was sitting low to the floor which was usually an animal's way of saying something bad was going to happen and htat he could feel it.

A black bird cawed as it landed and perched on the roof of the mansion and looked down at the incoming visitors.

"Oh, great, a black bird," Mo groaned. "Why? Why did a black bird have to be included?"

"You're not afraid of birds, are you, Mo?" Atticus asked.

"No, but I've done my research and a creepy mansion, plus the gates opening by themselves and the black bird are signs that this is not a great house to be at, now the only things that we need to prove it are a storm flooding the roads, a cemetery in the backyard, and the front door opening right after one of us knocks on it." Mo said.

"You sound like a regular detective." Atticus smiled in admiration toward her research, his eyes seemed to glow as he held onto her every word.

"Well, what do you expect with having a detective for a boyfriend?" Mo smiled with a wink at Atticus.

Atticus chuckled to that.

Drell smirked as he looked over to them as he stopped the car. "Having fun back there?"

Atticus and Mo simply rolled their eyes at him. Drell chuckled as he then kept driving. Atticus and Mo then smiled bashfully to each other. Patch seemed to enjoy this as it seemed to be entertaining for him.

Cherry came out of the car with her relatives.

"Bob Vila would have a field day with this place." Jim commented.

"Who?" Cherry asked.

"Never mind that now." Sara told her niece, then jolted when she heard one of the car doors slamming.

"Hey, Megan, don't slam the door like that," Jim warned his older daughter. "It's very sensitive."

"Seriously?" Drell asked.

"Yeah, it's just a car, Dad." Megan nearly scoffed.

"Ah! It's not just a car," Jim scolded her before going to his car to 'soothe' it from what his daughter said about it. "It's a very delicate piece of machinery. Shh. She didn't mean what she just said. She didn't mean that."

"Okay, that man is just obsessed with that car and looking good." Patch whispered.

"Ya think?" Drell snorted. "Sheesh, I hate self-absorbed people."

Cherry quietly snickered to that.

"Let's take a look around." Atticus said,

"Might as well." Mo agreed, though a little nervous.

"Come on, let's see what's around back." Sara suggested.

"I'm getting hungry." Michael groaned.

"Let's hope there's cell service." Mo said.

"If not, I brought my crystal ball." Atticus replied.

"Cool." Michael smiled.

"I'm hungry too." Megan whined.

"Don't worry," Jim promised as they were going to explore. "We'll be 20 minutes tops."

"Hey, Dad, when we get to the lake, can I go to that pizza shop where I ate that whole pizza, and when we got to the cabin, I threw up and you still saw the pepperoni chunks in it?" Michael asked.

"Yuck." Cherry shuddered.

"Yeah, we can go there if we can avoid a repeat performance." Jim murmured to his son before they looked over.

"They have their own graveyard." Cherry commented, seeing numerous tombstones.

"Oh, great, my theories are coming true." Mo groaned.

"It appears so..." Atticus looked overwhelmed.

"Wow... Now that's something you dont' see every day." Jim commented.

"Oh... My... God! Dead people?" Megan gawked at her father. 

"Hey, honey, you know they have, uh, dead people in the backyard?" Jim weakly called to his wife.

"Oh, sure, this doesn't tell you that this mansion might creepy or even haunted at all." Atticus said sarcastically.

"Well, some people have pools," Sara shrugged. "Some people have private cemeteries. It happens."

"Yeah, like the Addams family maybe." Cherry replied.

"This place just gives me the creeps." Mo shivered.

"So, Uncle Jim, you're gonna sell a house with this?" Cherry asked.

"This historical sprawling manor with spacious grounds?" Jim replied. "Yes."

"Hey, that's good," Sara smiled. "We'll put that on the listing."

"And looks like the black bird might be included since it hasn't left its spot on the mansion." Atticus said.

"And leave out all the dead people?!" Megan gestured wildly to the cemetery.

"We'll just stick to the bright side," Jim said before lightning flashed and it started to rain, much to his misfortune. "Oh, no. I got my good suit on."

"Quick, under the porch!" Drell called out.

They all ran and rushed for the porch as it started to rain and headed for the front doors, hoping someone would be home so they could come inside before they would catch cold.


	3. Chapter 3

"Please let there be someone at the door." Mo begged to herself.

Atticus held her close for warmth.

"You think it's gonna stop?" Megan asked.

"Oh, I hope it's not raining at the lake." Sara frowned.

Patch tried to shake himself dry.

Drell knocked on one of the front doors. "Hello? Is anybody home?!" he called out.

"Alright, kids, when you're at work with Mommy and Daddy, you're always on|your best behavior, right?" Jim reminded his kids who then nodded in response. "Same goes to you, Cherry." he then added to his niece.

"Yeah, yeah." Cherry put her hands in her pockets as she put her glasses away.

"HELLO!" Drell called. 

"Hello, Evers Real Estate!" Jim called out. "We're from Evers and Evers Real Estate!"

"Maybe they're not home." Patch whispered.

"Nobody's home," Cherry walked off. "Let's go."

Suddenly, just like the gates from earlier, the door creaked open by itself, feeling more and more like a scary movie.

"This mansion definitely is not a safe place for anyone to live in." Mo said.

"I've never seen anything like this." Patch looked up to the humans.

"Same here." Atticus said.

Jim tried to call for someone, but he only heard his own echo, so they were all now walking inside the house.

'This is so creepy.' Patch thought to himself.

"Alright, whoever's there, come on out, this isn't funny!" Drell called as they entered the creepy house.

"Yeah!" Atticus called out.

They came into the main room which had twin staircases with candles everywhere and a giant dusty clock into view. This home looked very old-fashioned. 

"Kinda makes me think of my parents' place." Drell commented.

"Your parents house is like this?" Atticus asked.

"Not as dusty, but it's not too far off," Drell replied. "Just have a basement and you have my bedroom."

"Good to know." Atticus said.

Cherry randomly held out her hand and rubbed her fingers together, wanting him to give her money for saying those three words. Atticus grumbled before giving her a dollar bill. Cherry took the money and put it inside of her jacket.

"Sara, this puts us in a whole new league." Jim whispered to his wife.

"Smells like Grandma's house." Megan commented.

"Worse, it smells like Grandma." Michael mumbled.

"All this place needs is a little dusting." Patch said.

"We'll get a cleaning crew to come out here and shine it up," Jim suggested. "This place would be sparkling from top to bottom."

Michael's eyes widened to one cobweb. "Mom, this place has spiders!"

Atticus simply took a deep breath and blew the spiders away, surprising the family how strong his lungs and breath was.

Cherry had spiders and webs in her hair. "They're in my hair, aren't they?" she asked dryly at first.

"Uh-huh." Drell nodded.

"Okay..." Cherry said before screaming loudly. "GET THEM OUT! GET THEM OUT!!!!"

"Oops, sorry." Atticus said sheepishly before blowing the spiders off Cherry's hair and right through the window, killing each of the spiders.

Cherry patted her hair and looked in a frenzy. Michael and Megan looked shocked to see that Cherry could be scared of anything despite being dark and scary herself.

"Guess I need a bit more practice on my aim." Atticus said.

"Please do..." Cherry panted while Mo and Patch laughed at her misfortune. "And what is so funny?!"

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Patch said, trying to resist to laugh.

"Yeah, take it easy, Cher, it's just a joke." Mo added in, folding her arms with an amused smirk.

Cherry lowly growled.

Lightning flashed as there was an aged man walking down the hallway and looked to the visitors of the mansion. "Sara Evers...?"

"Yes, I'm Sara." the woman replied with a small smile.

"Oh, sure, a creepy butler that doesn't make this place any less scary." Mo whispered.

"Do you think he 'did it'?" Atticus attempted to joke like in classic murder mystery where the butler was often the killer.

"What do you think, detective?" Mo whispered back, letting him handle this mystery.

"Atticus, you are going to have to solve this case." Drell whispered to him.

"GAH!" Atticus yelped. "Don't do that..."

"Sorry..." Drell replied, honestly sorry as he butted into their conversation.

"And who are you, sir?" Cherry asked the butler.

"My name is Ramsley." the butler replied in a very creepy grave voice.

"Pleased to meet you, sir." Atticus said, extending his right hand to the butler.

The butler seemed to ignore his hand. "We were not expecting others..."

"He's rather rude." Patch said.

"Yes, we were on our way out of town," Sara replied to the butler. "And I invited my niece and her friends to come along." 

"Yeah, then we realized the enormity and complexity of your unique estate we wanted to commit the full resources of Evers and Evers Real Estate," Jim walked over to his family and made them come forward with him. "At Evers and Evers Real Estate, we want you to be happy forevers and evers. Please accept this waterproof calendar as a token of our appreciation." he then held out a tiny card from his pocket and handed it over to the butler. 

"I don't think this guy likes other people." Mo whispered.

"Very well," Ramsley took the calendar. "We shall have to place other settings."

Drell looked curious. "What do you have other settings for?"

"Master Gracey wishes to discuss his affairs over dinner." Ramsley replied. 

"What kind of affairs?" Atticus asked.

"I'm afraid that is only between the master and his guests in which I have no part of." Ramsley replied. 

"Let me guess, he was only anticipating on having Cherry's aunt over here alone, right?" Atticus asked, sounding like a detective. 

"Precisely." Ramsley replied. 

"And as for not shaking Atticus's hand?" Mo asked.

"I'm not too friendly with strangers, young lady." Ramsley never broke his grave monotone as he led them into the dining room.

"Wow, and I thought Forte was a buzzkill." Cherry rolled her eyes. 

"I think this guy beat him to the punch." Patch said.

"Heh." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Well, at least this place can't get any more creepy." Patch said.

"And it will now..." Cherry groaned. "Sir, I'm afraid we can't stay for dinner, we have plans." she then said.

"That's right." Sara agreed with her niece. 

"Yeah, so, if you'll just excuse us." Drell said.

"We mustn't be rude." Jim said in a snooty accent to mock Ramsley about staying for dinner.

"What about our family adventure?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, Dad." Megan added in.

"Uncle Jim, you promised we'd be here in a minute and we'd go to the lake with my friends after." Cherry spoke up. 

"We'll have some soup and then we'll get going, alright?" Jim compromised with them as they passed the suits of armor which gave Cherry Beauty and the Beast flashbacks. 

"Then why do I have a bad feeling that we'll be staying longer than planned?" Atticus asked.

"Will you let the grown-ups handle this, kid?" Jim glanced to him. 

"Alright, fine." Atticus said.

"Thank you." Jim replied.

Sara looked apologetic to Atticus about her husband's behavior. Atticus shrugged, telling her it was alright.

"Are these baroque?" Cherry asked about the suits of armor.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, they are." Ramsely replied.

"Well, if it's not 'baroque', don't fix it." Cherry replied with a small smirk. 

This caused for Atticus, Mo, Patch, Michael, Megan, and even Drell to laugh, finding that funny. Ramsley glanced back, not laughing, then looked back as he continued to lead them into the dining room of the mansion. There were several chairs and candles, including a roaring fireplace as the lightning flashed outside the windows.

"Well, at least this part of the mansion isn't creepy." Mo smiled.

"It's not that bad." Patch had to admit.

"Eh, it's okay." Cherry shrugged.

"Wow..." Jim smiled as Ramsley shut the doors behind them. "Nice, very nice... Good job... Hey, Megan, how'd you like to eat like this everyday at home?" he then joked with his daughter. 

His attempt was a failure as Megan didn't seem to laugh.

"The Master will be with you shortly." Ramsley informed the guests as lightning illuminated against his face slightly.

Jim nodded and put his hands together. "Carry on."

Ramsley bowed to them and went off. 

"Okay, seriously, that guy gives me the creeps." Patch said, surprising the family that they weren't hearing things while Atticus simply had a suspicious look towards Ramsley, having a bad feeling about the butler.

"I warned you." Drell whispered to Atticus about Ramsley. 

"I know, I'm going to keep a close eye on him." Atticus whispered back.

"Good boy." Drell gently patted him on the head.

"Thanks." Atticus smiled.

"Oh, and have you ever felt the weight of gravity before?" Drell whispered to Atticus.

"Um, no, no, I haven't." Atticus shook his head.

"Wanna find out?" Drell smirked with a small wink.

"Yes." Atticus nodded.

"I'll show ya sometime." Drell grinned to him, pressing his fingertips together.

"Awesome!" Atticus smiled.

Drell smiled back to him.

"Carry on." Ramsley told the others before he walked off in the distance.

"He doesn't lighten up much as it seems." Mo said.

"You said it." Jim agreed.

The others observed the dining room until the master of the mansion would come meet them.


	4. Chapter 4

"This room is so amazing with its architecture." Patch said.

"Yeah, I'll give it that." Cherry agreed.

"Have you ever seen a fireplace this amazing?" Sara smiled.

"It looks big enough to warm a whole family." Mo smiled.

"Ah, we could have one heck of a weenie roast in that thing, huh?" Jim stood next to his wife.

"My father could cook a fresh griffin for Sunday dinner with that thing." Drell commented.

"Yeah." Atticus nodded.

"Seriously," Sara seemed entranced. "Look at this detail. I've never seen anything like this."

"Haven't you?" a new voice asked as lightning flashed with rumbling thunder.

"He seemed to have come out of nowhere." Patch whispered.

"Must be a family thing." Mo replied, mostly in joking.

"My grandfather spared no expense when he built this mansion." the man continued.

"Well, your grandfather had really good taste in tchotchkes," Jim walked over, deciding to introduce himself. "I'm Jim Evers of Evers and Evers Real Estate. Charmed to make your acquaintance, sir." he then held out his hand for this man to shake it. 

"Edward," the man gave his name. "Edward Gracely."

"It's so nice to meet you, sir." Mo smiled with a curtsy.

Atticus, Patch, and Cherry glanced at Mo for her girlish gesture.

"Uh, this is my wife, Sara," Jim continued to introduce. "And this is our niece, Cherry with her friends, Atticus, Mo, Patch, and Drell."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Atticus said.

"Charmed." Edward replied.

Patch went up to the man, trusting him more than he did with the butler. 

"Hello there." Edward smiled down to Patch.

"Hi." Patch smiled.

Edward glanced at Patch. "I must be hearing things, I could've sworn I heard this puppy speak."

"You're not hearing things, sir, I really am speaking." Patch smiled.

"Fascinating..." Edward commented.

"My name's Patch Pongo." the puppy smiled proudly as he gave his name out.

"Pongo, huh?" Edward replied. "I feel like I've heard that name before, weren't you and a bunch of other Dalmatians in the newspaper after being missing and kidnapped?"

"Yep, and I've had a whole lot of surprises since being adopted by my owner, Atticus Fudo." Patch smiled, introducing the man to his owner/master.

"So, he's yours, is he?" Edward replied.

"Yes, sir, he's my best friend." Atticus smiled proudly.

Cherry whacked the back of Atticus's head, though it couldn't hurt him much.

"Best dog friend." Atticus then said before glaring to Cherry for that. 

Cherry stuck her tongue out in response.

"I can tell that you two are best friends," Edward chuckled before humming as he looked at Atticus, seeming as though he knew him. "You look familiar though."

"Really?" Atticus asked. 

Mo looked a little nervous.

"I'm sure it's nothing." Edward said before looking at Mo.

Atticus shrugged to that.

"And who is this exactly?" Edward asked.

"This is my girlfriend, her name is Monique, but I call her 'Mo'." Atticus introduced.

"Pleasure to meet you, my dear." Edward bowed.

"Nice to meet you too, sir." Mo nodded before she curtsied, remembering what her adoptive parents had taught her.

"It's nice to meet you, sir." Drell said.

"Drell, is it?" Edward replied.

"Yes, sir." Drell nodded as he looked way down at the man who seemed much shorter than him due to how much taller and bigger he was.

"You look like someone I once knew." Edward said.

"Major coincidence, I'm sure." Drell replied.

"Possibly." Edward shrugged before meeting Sara.

Drell shook a chill down his spine as the master was meeting all of them.

"Very nice to meet you, Mr. Gracely." Sara greeted, then introduced her and Jim's children. "And this is our daughter, Megan, and our son, Michael."

"You have wonderful children." Edward smiled.

"I kicked in some chromosomes, too." Jim spoke up with a shy smile as Edward seemed to only compliment Sara in his statement.

"Oh, brother." Patch whispered.

Cherry rolled her eyes at her uncle's attempt at a joke.

"Children... Madame..." Ramsley entered again as lightning flashed again. 

"It must be dinner time." Mo highly assumed.

"You are quite right, my dear." Edward smiled.

"Oh, nice." Jim said.

Ramsley and Edward led the others into the dining room and they took their seats.

"The master was very pleased when he heard you could come on such short notice," Ramsley informed as he helped the others into their chairs like a gentleman as he was ordered to do so. "Normally we would not have called you here so abruptly. But we had no other choice."

"What do you got?" Jim asked as he sat down. "Termites or something? Big house like this must have a lot of termites."

"No, but lately, there have been more disturbances..." Ramsley replied.

"What kind of disturbances?" Atticus asked.

"I'm afraid those are confidential." Ramsley replied.

Patch helped himself into a chair.

Ramsley glared to him. "Down!"

"Oh, come on, Ramsley, let him have a little fun." Edward insisted with an amused smile.

Patch smiled up at the man, liking him a lot before sticking his tongue out at the butler.

Ramsely seemed to roll his eyes at the puppy. "Very good, sir..."

"What do you think of the house, Ms. Evers?" Edward asked Cherry's aunt.

"Oh," Sara smiled as she looked all around with wide wonder as another butler and a maid walked into the dining room to serve their guests and master "I think it's absolutely incredible. The Italian influence. The Renaissance style of the molding. The attention to detail is stunning. You never see houses like this. Or at least I don't."

"I trust you like it too?" Edward then asked Cherry.

"Yeah, it looks like a new adventure every day." Cherry agreed.

"It definitely looks like it has a lot of history behind it." Mo smiled.

"Great care and love went into the building of this mansion," Edward smiled as he told them all about it. "This house is my inheritance. My birthright. But lately it's become too much to bear."

"Sounds like you might need some company." Mo said.

"Oh, you could say that." Edward agreed. 

The storm seemed to be getting worse and worse as they were served dinner.

'It sure sounds like it's really coming down outside.' Mo thought to herself.

Patch quietly whimpered, feeling a little nervous at the storm. Atticus did his best to comfort Patch, but he looked nervous as well.

"Are you both all right?" Edward asked.

"Y-Yes, sir, it's just that storms kind of freak me and Patch out." Atticus told him.

"Don't worry, try to enjoy your meal." Edward suggested.

"Y-Yes, sir." Atticus nodded.

'He'll soon be over that fear as well as soon as he meets Mei and Gabu, two animals that no one would have ever thought would become friends,' Drell thought to himself. 'And where that'll be before his training with Goku just so his fear doesn't get in the way of their training.'

"Tell me, Mr. Evers," Edward looked to Jim. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

'Oh, this should be good.' Drell then thought to himself.

"Ghosts?" Jim asked him in return. "Yeah, sure, I believe in ghosts. Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea to put on the listing though."

Cherry groaned and face-palmed.

"You should talk about how many bathrooms in the house," Jim then continued with a small smile. "People love bathrooms. We should play up the toilet angle and leave out ghosts. I think that'd be best."

"Oh, brother." Mo whispered.

"The storm has swollen the road." Ramsley informed as he stood by one of the large windows looking outside.

Jim leaned forward. "How's that?"

"The storm has flooded the road," Ramsley explained. "I'm afraid there will be no leaving the mansion tonight."

"What?!" Megan squealed in dismay.

"Oh, that's just great." Mo groaned.

"Of course, you are all more than welcome to spend the night here." Edward invited. 

"Oh, no, I really don't think we should..." Sara replied with an apologetic smile. "We've got plans."

"Can't you do something about the weather?" Atticus whispered to the warlock.

"Mother Nature and I have a feud with each other," Drell whispered back. "I played ball when I was a boy in the fifteenth century and broke a window and she never forgave me!"

"Yikes." Atticus whispered.

"Sorry." Drell pouted as they were kind of stuck here for the night.

"Just as I thought..." Mo whispered once it was told they were forced to stay for the night.

"I'm afraid there's no other way," Edward said as he stood up from his chair. "Ramsley will show you to your rooms."

"Oh, that's great." Patch said.

"I would normally ask for the dog to be put outside, but since it's such a stormy evening and he's a charming little fellow, he may sleep inside as well." Edward then sharply added, mostly sharp towards Ramsley to warn him about excluding the puppy from spending the night.

"Thank you, sir." Patch smiled.

Edward gave a small smile to him. Ramsley collected a candelabra and started to lead the visitors down the hallways to take them into temporary bedrooms for tonight.

"I hope the bedrooms aren't as creepy as the entrance was." Patch whispered.

"We can only hope." Atticus said as he held Patch in his arms for comfort with each other from the storm outside.

"Who should be with who?" Mo asked.

"Patch, Mo, you'll go with me," Atticus decided. "Michael and Megan get their own room, Mr. and Mrs. Evers of course get a room, Drell, can you promise me you won't torture Cherry if I leave you alone with her?"

"I, Drell Fraser Batsworth, solemnly swear not to punish Cherry in solitude with her." Drell put his right hand up.

"Good." Atticus nodded.

Cherry snickered. "Fraser..."

Drell gave her a warning look, but didn't hurt her, then nodded back to Atticus, keeping his promise.

"Alright, Ramsley, lead the way." Atticus said.

"Very good, young sir." Ramsley nodded as he led them to their rooms for the night.


	5. Chapter 5

The way to the bedrooms was just like the Beauty and the Beast, only more awkward.

"So, what're the rules?" Cherry joked, still thinking more and more of Beauty and the Beast. "Is this place our home now and we can go anywhere we like except for the West Wing because it's forbidden?"

Ramsley seemed to only look at her, confused at why she would ask him that.

"I tried..." Cherry looked to Atticus, Mo, and Patch.

Ramsley seemed to push that question away and just continued to show them their way to their bedrooms. Cherry released a soft sigh as they were all separated.

"You ready for bed?" Drell asked.

"Not really." Cherry replied dryly.

"Well, then what do you wanna do?" Drell asked.

"I usually go on my laptop right about now..." Cherry scooted back on the bed and held her knees. "I don't know."

"Why not start writing?" Drell asked.

"I guess..." Cherry shrugged. "What're you gonna do?"

"Do push-ups." Drell said.

"Have fun with that..." Cherry leaned back against the bed, trying to get comfortable. "I can't believe Forte was scared to come to this place, I mean, he's Forte..."

"You really don't know why he was scared of this place?" Drell asked.

"I don't know why he would be..." Cherry shrugged. "He doesn't seem to be scared of anything."

"This place, you will soon find out why he was scared." Drell said.

"I take it you know this place in a past life?" Cherry glanced at him.

"Yes, I do." Drell nodded.

"Oh, boy..." Cherry rolled her eyes. "I'm starting to think Forte is more fun than you are."

"The guy rarely smiles." Drell said.

"Forte used to frighten me when I was younger..." Cherry replied.

"Why do you think that was?" Drell asked.

"I... I dunno..." Cherry shrugged. "He just seemed so... Scary..."

"Or maybe he was trying to keep you to himself back when he was a villain?" Drell guessed.

"What was with that anyway?!" Cherry sounded hysterical now as she remembered how Forte used to be when she had first met the court composer. "He was a total creepazoid!"

"His dark side just got to take a little too much control over his body." Drell said.

"Gee, ya think?" Cherry deadpanned. "I had nightmares about what he tried to do at midnight for years!"

"Well, luckily for you, he's no longer evil." Drell said.

"Or is he?" Cherry narrowed her eyes.

Drell narrowed his eyes back. "Oh, you are sailing for a wailing!"

Meanwhile with Atticus, Mo, and Patch...

"I knew this was going to happen..." Mo put her hands to her face. "This feels like a scary campfire story come true!"

"Same here." Atticus said before noticing Patch was starting to lightly scratch on the bedroom door. He looked over. 

"Do you need to go outside?" Mo asked Patch.

"No, I'd like to go see that Edward guy." Patch said.

"Should we let him?" Mo asked, a little worried about Patch wandering off on his own.

"Yeah, besides, he's a strong pup and besides, if Ramsley gives him any trouble, he already knows how to handle that old geezer." Atticus smiled. 

"Plus this will be able to let me find out more about this house so I can help Atticus with the case." Patch smiled.

"Okay, you remember where to find us now, ya hear?" Mo replied.

"You got it, now, uh, one of you get the door for me, please?" Patch nodded with a smile. He then remembered that he could stand on two feet now and hit himself on the forehead for forgetting that.

"Uh, I better get that anyway," Atticus walked over to the doorknob and opened it. "You kinda need these..." he then gave thumb's up.

Patch stood up and showed he had thumbs too since he was a familiar now as well.

"Wait, when did you get thumbs?" Mo asked the puppy. "Salem or Mephista don't have thumbs."

"The fourth finger for us familiars is our thumbs." Patch told her.

"Well, okay..." Atticus shrugged.

"Be careful." Mo warned.

Patch nodded and went off to find Edward. He began to run around the mansion to see if he could find Edward, unknown to him, he was walking right to him as he unknowingly made his way to the library in the mansion.

Atticus then came over to Mo's bed and sat next to her. "Are you okay?"

"Fine.. Just a little spooked..." Mo admitted softly. "My life has been crazy, even before I met you, Atticus... But... I'm glad I met you, you're the best guy I could ever know... I just wish we could've known each other sooner than later."

"Were most of the guys you met dumb or a jerk?" Atticus asked.

"Pretty much..." Mo said. "Plus, it was tough to meet a trustworthy human after mine and Angel's issues with foster families."

"Well, I can promise you this, if any of those jerks you met before me shows his face, I'll give him a knuckle sandwich." Atticus said.

Mo chuckled lightly to that. Atticus smiled to her laughter, he loved how it sounded.

"Atticus, I'm glad you came into my life..." Mo leaned against him, looking like she was falling in love with him, in fact, she was.

Atticus held her close to him and tried to ignore the sound of thunder from the thunder storm outside. Mo and Atticus then seemed to cuddle together.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hello?" Patch asked as he looked around as entered the library.

The library seemed more spacious and more business than the Beast's library. There was a bust on a table as the puppy explored. Patch sniffed around the room as he tried to look for someone as he explored all around, but he had the odd feeling that he was being watched.

"Ah, Patch, I didn't expect you to be here, I thought you would have been with your master and his companion." Edward's voice said as he appeared from a chair.

Patch blinked in surprise, then looked over to the man. "Oh, um, I wanted to explore... I hope that's okay."

"It's quite alright," Edward smiled. "That young master of yours sure seemed like he was strong enough to handle anything."

"Oh, yes," Patch smiled back. "Atticus is the best, he's as strong as a god and even more now."

"My goodness... I hope I never have to get into a fight with him then." Edward chuckled, but not in a mean way.

"Totally..." Patch agreed. "This library seems interesting, you must be proud to have this in your care."

"It is rather big, but it can get rather lonely as well." Edward frowned.

"Oh, no doubt..." Patch said. "Don't you have friends or family? Even my Aunt Coco and Uncle Beamer have some company in their mansion."

"I'm afraid I don't have any friends or family here." Edward frowned.

"Oh, my..." Patch pouted.

"I had someone once, but I lost her a long time ago..." Edward said softly. "I feel she might be back tonight, though...."

"What was her name?" Patch asked.

"Elizabeth." Edward replied softly.

"Strange, that name sounds familiar." Patch said.

"She was my lost beloved..." Edward sounded like he was in mourning.

"What happened to her?" Patch asked.

"I'm afraid she met with grave consequences." Edward replied.

"Wait, you don't mean that she....." Patch frowned, slitting his throat with one his fingers of his right paw.

"I'm afraid so." Edward replied, understanding the gesture.

"But why would she do that?" Patch asked.

"I'm not sure, it's haunted me for years..." Edward replied gravely.

"Well, I'm sure her spirit is somewhere in this place." Patch said.

"I've had the feeling about it all night tonight..." Edward smiled softly to that.

"Well, I'm sure that no matter where she is, I'm sure she still loves you." Patch smiled.

"Oh, I know..." Edward replied.

"Want some company in here?" Patch asked.

"Go right ahead." Edward allowed.

Patch smiled as he looked around the library in wonder.

While that was going on, the married couple were not having such a great time.

"Will there be anything else that you require, sir?" Ramsley asked the couple before he left them alone for the night.

"Are you gonna get us some chocolates?" Jim requested.

Ramsley glanced at him. "Pardon?"

"You know, the little chocolates they put on the hotel pillows," Jim explained as Ramsley was obviously not going to fulfill that request. "Sometimes they have chocolates on the pillow..."

Ramsley just simply left the two of them, not going to fulfill Jim's request at all. Jim stepped back slightly as Sara looked up to her husband from the bed. And where she looked very crossed with her husband.

"What's the problem?" Jim asked his wife.

"In the first place, we weren't even supposed to be here," Sara replied. "We were supposed to be at the lake with my niece and her friends."

This was all true, but of course, to her husband, selling the mansion came first.

"What am I supposed to do, control the weather now, Sara?" Jim glanced at his wife.

"This isn't about the weather." Sara groaned.

Jim sighed to his wife. Drell started to wander down the hallways as he overheard the Evers couple starting to bicker. And where it sounded like Jim was losing this fight.

"Typical man..." Drell sighed about Jim and Sara's quarrel. He then heard Sara take something off and throw it to their bed and then go off to their bathroom.

"Hey, what are you... Hey, Sara." Jim tried to get his wife back as he struggled to get her to come back. "Hey, Sara, I didn't mean to say that, okay? Sara. Come on. Stop it. Sara. Sara. I'm sorry about that, honey. Can you open up, please?"


	7. Chapter 7

"That's what he gets." Drell whispered.

A bunny rabbit came in front of him and twitched her nose while waving her cotton tail.

"Oh, how precious..." Drell cooed before glaring. "A little rodent looking for a theme park."

"Who you callin' rodent, buster?!" the rabbit stood up and glared and pointed to her tail, revealing Penelope's voice. "I'm a bunny!"

"Penelope?!" Drell glared quietly.

"Oops!" the bunny yelped, then tried to hop away. Unfortunately for her, she didn't get far as Drell caught her instantly. "Drats..."

"What are you doing here?" Drell picked up Penelope by her bunny ears. "I told you to stay home with Skippy!"

"Sorry, but I wanted to check this place out," Penelope pouted. "It sounded so cool!"

"It isn't cool." Drell glared.

"Sorry..." Penelope muttered before being suddenly turned into a mouse.

Drell carried her by her tail and put her in his pocket. "Maybe this'll keep you out of trouble."

"Noooo!" Penelope yelped.

"Oh, but, yes." Drell smirked.

Penelope popped her head out. "I'm sorry, Daddy, it won't happen again, I promise!"

"And I'll make sure of it." Drell said.

Penelope pouted and whimpered.

"Now stay in there!" Drell shoved her back down.

"Yes, sir." Penelope muffled.

"Good girl..." Drell patted his pocket.

Cherry poked her head out the door as Drell was leaving. And where she sighed out of relief. She then decided to sneak off herself.

"May I help you, Miss?" Ramsley asked.

"Oh, um, just exploring." Cherry said to him.

"Then please enjoy your exploring, Miss." Ramsley said before going to speak with Jim.

"Um, yes, okay..." Cherry nodded to him as she then went to explore on her own. "This place is kinda creepy..."

Jim sighed as his wife didn't respond to him.

Ramsley came right behind Jim, spooking him slightly in surprise. "Pardon the intrusion, sir."

"Yes...?" Jim replied once he got over the little scare.

"The master was wondering if he might have a word with you in the library." Ramsley informed Jim.

"Sure, we can talk about sports and stuff." Jim smiled.

"Very good, sir," Ramsley replied. "If you would follow me."

"Yeah, of course, of course," Jim nodded to him, then looked to the perky goth. "Oh, um, Cherry, you mind telling Aunt Sara I'm going to have a word with Mr. Gracey and I'll be back in a minute?"

Cherry shrugged. "Whatever."

"Thanks, you're the best." Jim smiled.

Cherry slowly nodded and then went off back to what she was doing before. Jim then went to follow Ramsley into the mansion's library.

Patch was soon starting to fall asleep in Edward's arms.

Edward gently pet the puppy. "Sweet dreams~" He then heard Jim and Ramsley coming.

"Ramsley, I was just wondering," Jim spoke up behind the grave butler. "Have you ever been to a tanning salon? I've got a friend who's got a really great place. You can get a really smooth tan. Do something about that ashy white look. I'm sure the ladies would love it."

"Mr. Evers, may I speak with you?" Ramsley asked.

Patch did not wake up, but he seemed to smile in his sleep when with Edward. Edward soon brought Patch with him as he snuck out of the library without going out the entrance. Patch shifted slightly, but still didn't wake up.

"Would you care for a drink, sir?" Ramsley offered. "While you're waiting?"

"Um, sure." Jim said.

Ramsley went to fetch him a drink then.

Jim went inside the library to see a self portrait of Edward. "Oh, wow!" he beamed at the sight. "Now, that's class. That's what I need to do. Get a big picture of myself to put on the living room wall. Adds a touch of elegance to the room."

"Yes, sir," Ramsley handed him his drink. "Very elegant."

Jim accepted the drink. He then took a drink. "So, Ramsley," he decided to make conversation until Edward would come meet him as promised. "How long have you been a butler?"

"A long time." Ramsley replied mysteriously and which for him was an eternity.

"They have to be hiding something around this place..." Cherry said to herself as she explored, seeming to get lost. "But what?" She soon saw a maid looking like she was dusting.

The maid was doing her chore, unaware that she had company.

Cherry sniffled from the dust before her face trembled and she suddenly sneezed. "Gah... Sorry..."

"Oh, my...Y-You startled me." The maid said, shakily.

"I get that a lot..." Cherry sniffled as she wiped her nose with her sleeve.

"Sh-Shouldn't you be in your room with your companion?" The maid asked.

"I was just exploring..." Cherry shrugged. "besides, he left the room himself..."

"Really, where is he?" The maid asked.

"Uh, I dunno, he just wanders off..." Cherry shrugged, then sniffed again. "Something smells sweet though..."

"Uh, well, I-I have cookies for you kids..." the maid smiled nervously. "W-W-Would you like one?"

"What kind?" Cherry asked.

"S-Snickerdoodles." The maid answered.

"Well, I can't really say no to those..." Cherry had to admit.

"Th-Then please follow me." The maid said.

"Okay." Cherry nodded.

The maid then put the duster down and led the perky goth over to the cookies.

"Patch sure has been gone for a long time." Mo frowned.

"You're right, he should have been back by now," Atticus said. "Even if this is taking longer to get information, we've gotta find him."

Mo stood up. "I'll go with you."

"Okay, we'll have to look through every room." Atticus said.

"Let's go." Mo stood close beside him.

Atticus nodded and they left their room together.

Jim was soon alone in the library after a scary talk with Ramsley. He appeared to be trapped behind a bookcase. "Hello?! Ramsley?!" Jim called out.

Patch woke up slightly. "Huh? Who said that?"

"You fell asleep." Edward smiled, making it seem like he was the one that woke up the Dalmatian.

"Oh..." Patch chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"It's quite alright." Edward smiled.

Patch smiled back.

"I'm looking for Mrs. Evers, would you like to help?" Edward asked.

"Um, sure." Patch smiled.

They didn't need to search long as she seemed to come into the library, possibly looking for her husband. "Where's that scary albino when you need him?" the woman muttered to herself.

"Sounds like we didn't need to look for her." Patch smiled before making his way to Sara so he could bring her over to Edward.

Sara looked all around, then looked down to see Patch, she bent down and cuddled the puppy. "What're you doing here, boy?"

Patch brought over to the chair where Edward stood up to show he was there too.

"Oh..." Sara saw she had company. "Hello." She was so startled by his sudden appearance that she accidentally knocked over a stack of books.

"Can I help you with that?" Edward offered. "Ramsley hates it when I leave things lying about."

"With him, I can't tell if he would be upset or just annoyed." Patch said.

Edward and Sara collected the books together. Patch watched them and saw that Edward seemed to be obsessed with Sara.

'He seems more interested in Sara than anything else.' Patch thought to himself.

Edward and Sara talked a bit about Ramsley before switching topics about why Edward wanted to sell the house since its been in his family for many generations. 

"These walls are filled with so many memories," Edward told Sara. "Some of them painful. I think for you to understand, I really must show you."

Sara looked a little worried, but then saw that Patch trusted Edward which was a good thing since dogs were excellent judges of character.

"It's all right," Edward attempted to soothe Sara as he took her around. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Although it might be a bit worn and faded from its original grandeur, this house was once filled with so many things. So much life. With grand parties, dancing, laughter, and, above all, hope. Being a Gracey meant that you were denied nothing. The world was yours."

"What happened here, Mr. Gracey?" Sara asked, wondering why he would feel troubled over what sounded very pleasurable.

"She did." Edward stated.

"Who?"

Edward looked into her eyes. "Elizabeth." he said the same name he had told Patch.


	8. Chapter 8

Meanwhile, Cherry was with the maid, waiting for the promised cookies and she couldn't help but stare at a portrait of a Victorian woman as her younger cousins seemed to be coming the same way. "Kinda looks like Aunt Sara and my daddy's mother..." she muttered quietly. She then saw a glowing sphere coming into the room. Her eyes widened as she slowly walked over to the glowing sphere.

The sphere soon disappeared as soon as it came to the portrait.

"Mom?" Megan's voice said, confused.

Cherry blinked and noticed her cousins. "Michael and Megan?"

"Cherry?" Michael and Megan looked to their older cousin.

"What are you doing here?" a sharp male voice called to them, making the three look to see a slightly aged man who had served them at dinner. "You're not supposed to be here! This is unspeakable! Unspeakable! You have to leave!"

Then suddenly, Atticus and Mo appeared as if by magic.

"Where'd you guys come from?" Cherry came over to Atticus and Mo.

"We just appeared here and I don't even know how we got into this room." Atticus said.

Michael and Megan glanced to Atticus and Mo and the other man staring at them.'

"Who is that?" Mo wondered about the portrait.

"That's none of your business," the man glared to them. "Now, come on, get out of here, it's way past your bedtime!"

"Her name was Elizabeth," the maid came with a silver platter of snickerdoodles for the kids. "Are you kids hungry? Does anyone want a cookie?"

"Ooh, I'd like one." Atticus smiled.

The others then took their own cookies to try them out.'

"Ooh, snickerdoodles," Mo smiled. "These are my favorites."

"Cookies?!" the man looked flabbergasted. "Don't offer them cookies, they're trespassers! Trespassers don't get cookies! This is none of their concern."

"It is their concern," the maid retorted assertively. "They're involved!"

"Involved?" Atticus asked, taking a bite of his cookie. "How are we involved?"

"Well, for one..." the maid was about to explain until she heard footsteps in the distance. "Hide! Hide!"

Cherry, Michael, Megan, Atticus, and Mo then hid away with their cookies. Atticus and Mo, loving the cookies the most, took the whole plate of cookies.

"Greedy..." Megan mumbled to them.

"Leave 'em alone..." Cherry glared.

Ramsley came to the maid and the other man. "The children are not in their rooms and Cherry has taken her own leave," he informed the others. "Have you seen them?"

"Children? What children?" The maid asked as if she didn't know what he was talking about.

"What children?" the other man echoed to help themselves out of this situation.

"The children she was not supposed to bring," Ramsley replied. "Along with that brainless husband of hers and that lousy flea-bitten mutt."

'Why that no good jerk!' Atticus thought to himself.

Mo looked like she wanted to bite Ramsley like a dog, mostly due to her upbringing, but she tried her best to stay quiet and hide with the others.

"If I had to listen to another word from that insufferable fool, I think I would've burst." Ramsley continued.

"Of course, sir," the man agreed to kiss up to Ramsley. "What a fool!"

'What a kiss-up.' Mo thought to herself.

"If you find the children, bring them to me," Ramsley demanded after ranting about wanting Elizabeth to come to this mansion all by herself without the company that came with her. "Especially the young lad who looks stronger than the average boy."

The maid and man gave agreements to him. Once Ramsley was gone, it was safe to come out. The maid then gestured for the kids to come out once he was gone.

"You lied for us..." Cherry said.

"Why?" Mo asked. "Why did you lie for us?"

"Well, you should know, the master wants your mother..." the maid said to Michael and Megan, referring to Sara.

"What about Aunt Sara?" Cherry asked.

"You see that woman?" the maid gestured to the portrait. "That's Elizabeth, she was Edward's lost love and he believes that Sara is Elizabeth in a different life."

"And then, there's you two." The man said before showing a portrait of a boy that looked like Atticus and a portrait of a girl that looked like Mo.

"What the...?" Mo took a look. "Um... Are those Mr. Gracey's children?"

"No, but they were going to be both his and Elizabeth's children since they were orphans." The maid said.

"Oh..." Atticus and Mo said.

"They look so familiar..." Cherry said. "Do you know their names?"

"Yeah, do you?" Mo asked the maid and the man.

The maid and the man nodded.

"You should also know something..." the maid said. "We're not who we appear to be..."

"How do you mean?" Michael asked.

"Well, for starters..." the maid said before she became transparent and blue and she started to float around in the air, revealing that she was a ghostly spirit.

"Y-Y-You're ghosts?" Michael asked, scared.

"Uh-huh..." the maid nodded as she flew around.

"Reminds me of Phantasma..." Cherry commented to Atticus about the flying around.

"Yeah, she really does." Atticus whispered.

The maid then came back down next to the man.

"So, uh, are you two a couple?" Mo asked.

"Why, yes," the man informed before slightly rolling his eyes. "I was the mansion's footman with my nutty maid wife here."

"So, do you know what happened in this mansion?" Atticus asked, sounding like a detective.

"Of course we do..." the maid replied softly, with a hint of shakiness. "We can take you to someone who can also help."

The footman nodded. "Madame Leota."

"Wait, you mean she's a ghost too?" Atticus asked before taking out his own crystal ball out of his sleeve as if by magic. "Then let's give her a call."

The man and maid stepped back from the crystal ball. They seemed to whisper to each other, wondering where that came from, but they looked back to the boy.

"My dad gave me it and I used my magic to bring it up here." Atticus said.

"Magic?" the ghostly couple asked.

"That's right." Atticus nodded.

"Atticus is a Wiccan." Mo said.

"That would make sense." The man said.

"So, who are you guys anyway?" Cherry asked.

"I'm Emma and this is my husband, Ezra." the maid introduced.

"It's nice to meet you both." Mo said with a curtsy as her boyfriend looked through his crystal ball to see where Madame Leota was.

"Let's see if I can do this..." Atticus said. "Find Madame Leota."

"We can just take you to her, you know." Ezra said.

"Oh, right, besides, my dad told me that she doesn't like being called." Atticus said.

"Your father knew Leota?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, my father's name is Patrick Fudo." Atticus said.

"Ah, you're a Fudo!" Ezra sounded familiar.

"I guess you know my family then, huh?" Atticus replied.

"Actually, yes..." Emma replied. "Do you know anything about your father's parents?"

"Um, no, no, I don't." Atticus shook his head.

"We didn't think you did..." Ezra replied softly.

"Yes, your family has always been quite the mystery..." Emma added in.

"Did you know them?" Atticus asked.

Ezra and Emma nodded.

"Who were they?" Atticus asked.

"What if we told you they were right here?" Emma prompted.

"Huh?" Atticus said, confused.

Ezra and Emma held each other's hands then.

"Are you guys...?" Atticus drawled out.

"Yes, Atticus..." Ezra said. "I know it might come as a shock to you, but... We're your grandparents."

"Wow..." Atticus said, surprised.

"No way..." Mo whispered.

"Are you guys serious?" Atticus asked the ghosts.

"Yes, we've missed you so much..." Emma had tears in her eyes as she smiled halfway. "Thank goodness you came with your friend."

"Wait, you mean my dad used to go to this mansion when he was younger?" Atticus asked.

"Yep, especially when he was a boy." Ezra smiled.

"Those were the better days." Emma also smiled peacefully.

"So, can you tell us why Edward killed himself?" Atticus asked.

"Come on, let's get moving." Emma gestured for them to follow them.

The others nodded and followed after the ghostly couple.

"Kids?" A familiar male voice said from downstairs.

"I hope that's Uncle Jim or, Heaven Forbid, Drell." Cherry said to the others.

To her surprise, it was both Drell and her uncle.

"Uncle Jim! Drell!" Cherry seemed to beam. "I've never been so happy to see you-" she then mumbled, looking away in the distance. "Actually, I'm never happy to see Drell..."

"It's true." Atticus whispered.

Drell rolled his eyes at his 'plaything'. "Hello, Cherry..."

"Cherry, are you okay?" Jim hugged the perky goth.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine," Cherry pushed him away. "We have a problem."

"Because of the rain?" Jim misunderstood. "We're gonna be fine, let's find your aunt and get out of here."

"But Dad, we can't leave yet." Megan said.

"She's right, sir, we have to help them." Mo added.

"Besides, I'm afraid it's not possible, Sara can't leave." Ezra told Jim.

"Oh, and why not?" Jim glared upstairs with his hands on his hips.

Ezra then materialized right behind the mortal man. "Because she can't!" he replied. "If I could tell you, I would, but I can't, so I won't, okay?"

"Paranoid much?" Mo asked.

"But, how'd you...?" Jim stuttered about Ezra's abilities. "Hey, okay, look, Daddy's having hallucinations, let's go right now."

"They're ghosts, Mr. Evers." Attcus spoke up. "And not just any ghosts, they're my-"

"They are not ghosts!" Jim glared to him. "We're just having hallucinations from that dinner we ate, it was that chicken! It didn't taste right!"

Emma zipped right in front of him firmly. "It's not the chicken!"

"See? They're ghosts." Mo said.

"But we're getting out of here." Jim said firmly.

"But Dad, we have to help them!" Megan ran down the stairs with her brother.

"You can't help the dead, honey, they're beyond help." Jim replied.

"The man's talking sense," Ezra replied to that. "Everyone should keep their noses in their own business and never mind the curse we're all put under!"

"We have to help free them from the curse, sir." Atticus said.

"Why is everybody talking about a curse?!" Jim freaked out. "Wait, have you been talking to that crazy green gypsy in the paperweight?"

"He found the gypsy!" Emma shrieked to her husband.

"Come on, Uncle Jim, we have to go back!" Cherry urged.

"Yeah, we have got to speak with her." Atticus said.

"No, I'm not going back there!" Jim refused. "They had me floating all around the room, I was strapped to a chair, floating all around the room with a marching band chasing me, I'm not going back there, forget it Casper!"

"But Aunt Sara's in trouble." Cherry said to him.

Jim glanced at her. "What kind of trouble?"

"Come on, we'll show you." Cherry said.

"Yeah, and trust us, when you see it, oh, boy, are you in for a shock." Atticus said.

They then came back to the other room and showed Jim the portrait of Elizabeth and he saw the eerie and strong resemblance the woman had of his wife.

While they went to find Madame Leota, Sara and Patch were still with Edward.

"She died here in this house," Edward told Sara and Patch about his lost love. "She was so very young. So very beautiful... She was in love with the heir to this mansion."

"Your grandfather." Sara replied.

"And he loved her more than life itself," Edward nodded. "But they were from different worlds, they couldn't be together..." he then looked out the window as the rain poured and thunder lightly rumbled distantly.

"What do you mean they couldn't be together?" Patch asked.

"I'm afraid it had to be that way..." Edward said. "Especially with how she went."

"How did she die, Mr. Gracey?" Sara asked.

"She took her own life," Edward continued to stare out into the storm. "Poison. After that, his life became unbearable, and so, without hope, without love, without Elizabeth, he hung himself..."

This news shocked the two of them.

"His soul wanders these halls, waiting for her to return," Edward continued. "If you listen carefully, you can still hear the beating of his broken heart."

Patch and Sara both were shook up from that information.


	9. Chapter 9

Meanwhile, we can see the others watching this from a grassy green crystal ball.

"Hold it, hold it, wait a minute, hold it a second," Jim spoke up as a woman's face known as Madame Leota appeared after the image was shown. "You're telling me this guy is dead and the reason we were brought here is because he wants to try to get jiggy with my wife?"

"Pretty much." Ezra nodded.

"Are you upset?" Emma added in.

"The guy is dead and he's trying to get with my wife!" Jim exclaimed. "And the house really isn't for sale?! Yes, I'm upset!"

"Leota, please tell us that the real spirit of Elizabeth is somewhere in this mansion." Mo begged.

"I believe it's true that Elizabeth walks these halls." Leota replied. 

"You see? I told you, it is her!" Ezra said to Emma.

"But, do not be deceived," Leota then warned. "All things are not as they appear. For the curse to be lifted, the truth must be known and for the truth to be known, you must find the key."

"What key?" Drell asked.

"Enter the tomb under the Great Dead Oak and travel deep under the ground." Leota informed. "And there, you will find the key that must be found. Find the black crypt that bears no name, or soon, your fate will be the same." 

"So, all we have to do is get a key?" Mo asked.

"The key is the answer to all." Leota replied. 

"Well, great, I'm in," Jim said so he could get his wife and get out of this place. "Let's get this key."

"Uh, excuse me, but how do we get out of here?" Cherry asked.

"That's a good question," Jim agreed. "How do we get out of here?"

"Well, uh, there's always my way..." Ezra grinned rather eerily. 

"We're gonna get outside through the wall, Grandpa?" Atticus asked.

"Yup." Ezra smirked.

"Um, no, I am not crashing through a wall, you can't make me..." Cherry said.

"Fine," Drell stood up with a mocking smirk. "You stay here with the ghosts, goblins, and crazy people while we save the day and you just back out like the spineless coward you are."

"I am not a spineless coward!" Cherry glared at him. 

"Then prove it." Drell smirked.

"I will!" Cherry glared as she shook her fists at him.

They were all now coming in a ghostly horse-carriage with a ghost skeleton horse as they broke through the mansion walls with Ezra driving and laughing rather crazily on the way. 

"Hey, I thought you said you could drive this thing!" Jim glared up at the ghost man.

"Don't worry, I know exactly what I'm doing." Ezra replied as he drove them. 

"You sure about that, Grandpa?!" Atticus called out.

"I've been doing this for years, sonny, trust me!" Ezra replied.

There was then a low tree branch coming up. Ezra and Emma screamed at it, they didn't duck down so their heads swooshed away briefly before coming back.

"Well, you better just keep your eyes on the road!" Cherry called before gulping as she looked like she was sick to her stomach from the driving. "Oh, sweet mother..." 

"Move over!" Emma glared at her husband, taking the reigns from him.

"What're you doing?" Ezra glared back.

"If you keep driving, you'll kill us all!" Emma replied.

"Well, that's where you're wrong, because some of us are already dead!" Ezra retorted with a laugh. 

"Are you trying to kill me and the others as well?!" Atticus asked out of worry.

"I'm starting to see where Atticus got his impulsive genes from." Cherry mumbled to herself. 

Ezra soon pulled back on the reigns to slow down the dead horse. The skeletal horse neighed and settled down, walking slowly through the grounds now.

"Guys, look!" Megan pointed to the various ghosts they passed. 

"Wow, now that's a lot of ghosts." Atticus said.

"Good thing Shaggy and Scooby aren't here." Mo commented.

"Dad?" Michael spoke up.

"Yes, son?" Jim replied.

"I see dead people."

"That's okay, son, I see them too."

"Why are these ghosts still here?" Drell asked.

"When they died, they couldn't find the light and now... Now they're trapped." Emma replied.

"Doomed to wander the Earth for all eternity." Ezra added in.

"As long as Stinky, Fatso, and Stretch aren't here... I'm happy..." Cherry replied. 

"Yeah." Mo nodded.

The others did their best to be polite for the ghosts.

"Boo." Drell said right behind Cherry.

Cherry screamed and fell to the floor in a fetile position and shivered like a coward. 

"DRELL!" Atticus glared.

Drell snickered with his hand to his mouth. Atticus soon bonked Drell on the head for tormenting Cherry.

"Ow!" Drell rubbed his head with a small glare to Atticus.

Soon enough, the carriage stopped.

"Whoa!" Ezra told the horse. 

"Alright, now let's go and find that key." Mo said.

Jim nodded and turned, but freaked out once he saw three ghosts inside the carriage. "Hey! What're you doing here?!"

"Can they see us?" one ghost asked the other.

"No, of course not." the other ghost replied.

"Yes, of course I can see you, I'm looking at you right now in your stupid hat." Jim replied.

"Don't listen to him," the other ghost told the one ghost. "He's lying."

"Are you blind?" Atticus asked the ghost.

"Whatever," Jim scoffed. "Come on, guys, let's go."

"I could swear he was looking right at me." the first ghost said.

"He's psychic." the other ghost said as the others left the ghoulish carriage.

"Idiot." Mo whispered.

Meanwhile, Edward took Sara and Patch into one room.

"This was to have been her wedding dress." Edward said as he showed a white dress to the woman and the Dalmatian puppy.

"She would have looked beautiful in it." Patch smiled.

"It's lovely." Sara agreed.

"It would have been lovelier if she'd had a chance to wear it," Edward put his arm around Sara. " Now it serves only as a dark reminder of what could have been."

"Were the two of them ever thinking about having kids?" Patch asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Edward replied. "There were two children who didn't have anywhere else to go or any homes to call their own, and they decided after a grand party when the man would have the nerve to propose to the woman of his dreams, that they would live happily ever after and raise the children as if they were their very own and have them also inherit the mansion."

"So, what happened to the children after she..... You know?" Patch asked.

"I'm afraid nobody knows..." Edward replied gravely. "The last heard from them was that they ran away, presumably back to the orphan home they came from."

"Oh, my." Patch pouted.

"To love someone so much and then lose them so suddenly," Sara said softly. "I can't imagine how awful that must be."

"If you truly love someone, they never leave you," Edward looked deep into her eyes. "They remain in your heart forever."

"I know what that's like." Patch said.

Edward and Sara smiled to him.

"Puppy love?" Sara asked.

"Oh, you bet..." Patch smiled bashfully.

"Love is a powerful thing." Edward smiled.

"Indeed." Sara agreed.


	10. Chapter 10

Back outside, the others were trudging through the cemetery outside.

"Isn't that romantic?" Megan asked as they walked to find the key, referring to Edward's love story. "He was willing to throw everything away for love."

"Well, now he's broke, dead, and cursed, nice move," Jim said as he walked, then squished in something. "Aw, crap! Hey, guys, watch your step."

Michael also squished. "Aw, crap!"

"Hey, Michael, don't say 'crap'." Jim scolded his son.

"He's only saying what you said." Atticus defended.

"Okay, where are we?" Jim said as they seemed to be lost in the graveyard.

"I think the gypsy lady said something about making a left at an oak." Michael shrugged.

"A left at an oak?" Mo asked. "As in an oak tree?"

"That was my guess." Drell said.

"Well, I'm glad she was so specific." Jim mumbled as he looked around with them.

There was then distant singing heard.

"Is that singing?" Atticus asked.

"Oh, no..." Drell groaned out of annoyance.

Penelope peeked out from her father's pocket.

"What is that?" Jim asked. "Do you hear that?"'

"Yeah." Megan nodded.

"It's coming from around here." Cherry walked ahead to follow the source of the singing.

"Trust me, this is going to get annoying." Drell said.

The group came over by the corner and saw four busts who appeared to be singing like a Barbershop Quartet.

"How are they alive?" Mo asked.

"The curse..." Drell mumbled as the busts sang. "The pure, agonizing curse..." 

"Hey, guys, excuse me, sorry to bother you," Jim walked up to the busts. "But we were wondering if you happen to know where the mausoleum was."

"Down by the old mill stream~" the busts sang instead of answering his question. "When I first met you~"

"Please don't tell me that they're going to answer every question in a song." Atticus begged Drell.

"I'm afraid I'd be a liar..." Drell grinned apologetically.

"Listen, I think they said it was an old oak by--" Cherry tried.

"By the light, By the light, By the light, Of the silvery moon~" the busts sang, ignoring her request like they did with Jim.

"Listen, we are trying to find the key!" Mo told the bust heads.

"Where's the key, where's the key, where's the beautiful key?~" the busts sang. "Find the key, find the key, oh happy you will be~"

"These guys are so annoying." Penelope whispered.

Mo looked around, could've sworn she heard Penelope's voice, but then shrugged it off since the witchling wasn't anywhere to be found.

"The key that I'm trying to find is in the mausoleum," Jim said to the busts, trying to get them to talk right. "The key is in the mausoleum."

"You left your key in a mausoleum, Down in Dixie~" the busts sang which made Megan roll her eyes and walk away.

"These guys are getting more annoying." Atticus groaned.

"Guys, there it is!" Megan called from the distance.

"Guys, there it is~" one bust sang.

"Guys, there it is~...." the other three joined in.

"Thanks," Jim scoffed. "Thanks for nothing."

"I swear, I think someone should just use magic on them to make them silent." Atticus said.

Drell drew out his wand with a dark grin.

"Dad?" Penelope sent him a stern look.

"Get back in there!" Drell whispered sharply and shoved her back into his pocket. 

Penelope muffled and struggled. "No fair..."

"Those busts were no help at all." Mo said.

"You should've smashed 'em." Cherry said to Atticus as they came over to where Megan was standing.

"For once, I agree." Atticus said.

They then met up as Megan stood alone.

"Okay, we made it." Jim said as they came up to the mausoleum and they walked together to take a closer look.

A crow squawked as it perched at the top as they gathered over to it.

"Let's hope that this doesn't have any warnings." Mo said.

They walked closer, but then stopped slightly as there were flames that lit up by the walls instantly, catching their attention instantly.

"I'm afraid it does." Megan said once she could see.

The bird then flew away once the flames brought out.

"Look, it's a warning." Megan looked back to the others.

"What are you talking about?" Jim asked.

"I studied Latin for three years, Dad," Megan said. "You thought it was dumb, rememebr? You said it was a dead language."

"Well, now we're gonna see how wrong I was." Jim said.

"What's it say, Megan?" Cherry asked her cousin.

"'Beware all who enter'," Megan read the writing to translate for the others. "'Here lies the passage to the dead'."

Michael stepped back, backing out of this adventure as he was afraid to even go inside.

"Where are you going?" Atticus asked.

"I don't like Latin." Michael replied fearfully.

"Hey, wait, Michael," Jim held his son back. "You're ten-years-old now. You got to start being a man."

"I just turned ten," Michael frowned. "I'm still getting used to it."

"Wait, you just turned ten?" Mo asked.

"Yeah...?" Michael shrugged to her.

"Then maybe you should stay out here." Mo said.

"Okay, here's what we do," Jim thought up a plan. "Megan, stay here with your brother."

"What?!" Megan looked insulted.

"I'm not gonna leave him out here by himself," Jim replied. "You guys stay together. I'll go in here, and I'll take care of this."

"But you might need someone to go in there with you." Mo said.

"She's right." Drell had to agree.

"Alright, then I'll take Drell with me." Jim said.

"I'm brave..." Cherry said.

"You stay out here..." Drell patted her on the head. "Might be dangerous."

"I am brave..." Cherry glared to him.

"He's coming with me." Jim said.

"Uncle Jim..." Cherry tried.

"Stay." Jim told her. "Drell, help me get this door open, would you?"

Drell rolled up his sleeve and grunted as he started to pull the door open. And where it opened up with ease, due to how strong the warlock was.

"Alright, let's go." Drell told Jim.

Jim nodded, agreeing with him. Drell took a lit torch and walked down the stairs with the mortal man once they entered the mausoleum.

"You kids stay right there, we'll be right back." Jim said.

"Okay." the kids said.

"We'll be back in 20 minutes tops." Jim promised.

"Come on, let's keep going." Drell said.

"Alright, be right back, guys." Jim said as he then followed the warlock into the mausoleum.

"All right, I take it back, this place reminds me of my parents' house." Drell mumbled as they walked along.

While that went on, Madame Leota seemed to show this to someone that was watching it. Ramsley appeared to be watching this and there were two hidden figures in the background who were trying to keep quiet. He then turned to see no one there. The two figures hid away. Ramsley then looked back into the crystal ball. 

"We have to do something..." the girl whispered to the boy, they both looked like they were dressed in ancient times.

"I know, but how?" The boy asked.

"I'm not sure..." the girl frowned. "The visitors have to know the truth of what happened between the two who would've become our parents."

"Yes, and we have to tell them immediately." The boy said.

"Hopefully Mr. Gracey will find out the truth himself before he deludes himself with that man's wife..." the girl agreed.

"Come on, let's try to do something." the boy took her hands and walked away with her as Ramsley watched Jim and Drell through Leota's crystal ball.


	11. Chapter 11

Meanwhile with Jim and Drell...

"And so you see, that's why I eat mice." Drell said as he walked down the stairs with Jim, carrying the torch.

"That is just wrong, man." Jim said.

"Don't noc it 'til you try it." Drell defended.

"Anyway, let's get back at the topic at hand." Jim said.

"Mortals..." Drell mumbled under his breath. 

"Now, what was it that the gypsy wanted us to look for?" Jim tried to remember. "The crypt with... The crypt with..."

'Oh, brother, this mortal is hopeless.' Drell thought to himself.

Jim kept trying to remember what Leota had told him.

"A crypt without a name, Uncle Jim!" Cherry's voice called, showing she was with Atticus and Megan.

Jim yelled out and looked to see his niece, daughter, and guests. "Oh! What's the matter with you?" He glared at cherry for startling him like that. "You can't just be popping out like that. I thought I told you to wait with Michael."

"He's fine outside by himself, besides, we had a feeling you would forget what she said." Atticus said.

"Anyway, she said 'Find the crypt with no name, or your fate will be the same'." Megan then reminded her father, using the rhyme that the gypsy had taught them.

"I think I found it..." Drell said as he looked to the darkened distance.

"That must be it." Jim said.

"Good hunch, Dad." Megan deadpanned.

"Yeah, what a genius." Mo added.

Jim glanced to them and walked to the crypt carefully and slowly.

"The gypsy made this sound like it would be hard." Atticus said.

"Like you don't, Wiccan..." Cherry mumbled with a dark smirk in a rather mocking way.

"Don't start." Drell said.

"Who's gonna stop me?" Cherry poked his nose.

Drell lowly growled.

"I'm officially starting to get sick of this place," Jim said as they came closer to the crypt. "And we're here 'cuz of who? Because I take seriously my responsibility as breadwinner. I want you guys to have everything I never had before."

"This guy is starting to annoy me." Drell whispered.

"Now I know why I don't visit often." Cherry whispered back.

"And a good thing too." Drell whispered back.

"For once, we agree on something." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Yep." Drell nodded.

"I didn't know you had a bad childhood." Megan said to her father.

"I didn't have a bad childhood." Jim defended, which led to them having a small argument.

"Alright, who wants to open it?" Drell asked. "How 'bout you, Cherry, unless you're scared?"

"I am not!" Cherry shook her fists at him.

"I'll open it." Atticus said.

"It might need some muscle anyway." Drell agreed.

Atticus then went up to the crypt while rolling up his sleeves.

"Can I have your laptop?" Cherry asked.

Atticus glanced at her.

Cherry shrugged. "I'll be sad when you die."

"He's not going to die." Drell said.

"You can't tell the future..." Cherry's eyes grew shifty.

Atticus soon used all his strength and got the crypt open. There appeared to be a dusty and rotting corpse inside with the skeleton showing.

"Phew!" Jim grunted in disgust. "Oh, man!"

"There's the key..." Cherry walked and stood over the corpse, she then pried open the cold, dead hands with no hesitation while the others looked absolutely disgusted and sick to their stomachs about the dead body. "I'm so jealous of you right now." she said to the corpse as she took the key out of the hold.

"Okay, one of us has got to get the key." Drell said.

"Uh, Drell?" Attius pointed in slight disgust.

"And Leota said this would be hard, that was easy." Cherry turned to the others with the key. 

"I can't believe you touched a dead body!" Drell grunted. "What is wrong with you?!" 

The corpse seemed to sit up right behind her.

"Wait, guys, why do I hear bones moving?" Atticus asked.

The others slowly turned around and saw that the corpse was alive and roared to them.

"Dang!" Cherry yelped and accidentally dropped the key into the murky waters. "Oops..."

"Oh, come on!" Drell exclaimed.

"Drell, I'm so sorry..." Cherry said.

Drell picked her up by her hood and held her over the water. 

"Drell, what're you doing?!" Cherry panicked.

"You drop it, you get it." Drell said before he started to let go of her finger by finger.

"But I can't swim!" Cherry yelped.

"Oh, for the love of.... I'll get it." Megan told them.

"Whoops." Drell let go of Cherry and made her fall into the gross water.

Atticus caught his best friend the last second before she would splash into the water. Cherry screamed, then looked up and around and stopped once she saw Atticus had her.

"You can stop now..." Atticus told her.

Cherry cleared her throat and settled down. Megan began to make her way down to the water. Cherry dusted herself clean once she touched the solid ground again.

"Never do that again." Atticus said, glaring at Drell.

"Yes, sir!" Drell saluted.

"What do we do about our new friend?!" Mo gulped nervously as the corpse was coming toward them.

"We'll have to fight him off." Atticus said.

"Who's we?" Cherry whispered.

"Fine, the ones that aren't afraid to fight off the undead." Mo said.

"Who said I'm afraid to fight the undead?" Cherry asked. "I just got a key from his cold, dead hands!"

"Hey, hey, man, go back to sleep!" Jim got nervous as the corpse came closer and closer. "Go on now back to bed! Get in your bed, go back to bed, I'm Jim Evers of Evers and Evers Real Estate!"

"Will you stop talking and just start fighting him?!" Drell glared.

Cherry hid behind Drell and shivered slightly, but her medallion appeared to be around her neck and it seemed to glow as the zombie drew closer and closer, much to Jim's nervousness.

"Um, Cherry, why is your medallion glowing?" Mo asked before noticing her own medallion and Atticus's medallion were around her and Atticus's necks. "And where did our medallions come from, we didn't put them on."

"Atticus always wears his, I don't remember wearing mine at all today..." Cherry said as she looked down to her medallion.

"There must be a reason why they appeared." Mo said.

"We'll figure that out later when we don't have the undead to fight." Atticus said.

"Right." the others agreed.

"Beat it, zombie, go back to Thriller!" Cherry made a karate pose as she stood in front of the living corpse.

The zombie walked up to her and roared in her face. Cherry coughed weakly before falling backwards and twitched.

"That's a first." Drell said.

"Leave us alone!" Atticus glared at the zombie.

The zombie only seem to roar at him which got a punch to the face.

"Guh..." Atticus waved his fist. "That was kinda gross."

The zombie seemed to tumble over the small bridge and splash int othe water.

"Next time you're gonna think twice before coming back from the dead, ain't you?" Jim mocked the zombie.

"Have you found it yet?" Drell asked Megan.

"I'm looking, I'm looking!" Megan called back as she wasn't under the water, but trying to look for the key from where she was standing in the water.

"Well, take your time, relax, we have everything under control up here." Jim replied casually. "We have everything completely under control."

"Uh, Mr. Evers?" Mo pointed in slight horror.

There were more coffins that appeared to have more zombies coming back to life.

"Oh, come on!" Drell complained.

"We should help Megan find the key..." Atticus said as he sat on the edge of the bridge. "Mo, remember what I told you."

"Right." Mo agreed as she sat with him. "Ready, Cherry?"

"No." Cherry moaned.

"Ready!" Atticus and Mo dove into the water to help Megan find the key as she went underwater to track the key down.

"I can't believe I have to do this." Megan shuddered before diving underwater.

"Uh, yeah, I'll wait here until you guys get back..." Cherry smiled nervously as she sat on top of the bridge after Atticus and Mo became merpeople to help Megan get the key.

"Sure, then you can help us fight off zombies." Drell said.

"Gah!" Cherry shivered. 

"Either you swim in the yucky water or you fight zombies, it's up to you, Yankee Doodle." Drell folded his arms.

"Ugh..." Cherry groaned, then took a deep breath as she dove forward into the water, turning into a mermaid as well as she joined her friends and cousin to track down the key.

"That's what I thought." Drell smirked.

"I hate you, Drell!" Cherry called out.

"Yeah, yeah." Drell rolled his eyes.

"Eww, everything in here's so icky and corpsy..." Mo shuddered as she was under the water with Atticus, Cherry, and Megan.

"Let's just keep looking." Atticus said.

The zombies were making their way for Jim and Drell.

"Jeez..." Jim muttered nervously.

"We can fight them." Drell said.

"We can?" Jim looked nervously to the warlock.

"Yes." Drell nodded.

"Uh, maybe you can..." Jim looked nervous.

"Oh, brother." Drell groaned.

"Now, if I were a mausoleum key, where would I be?" Cherry asked herself.

Megan pulled onto one of Mo's arms before pointing to the key.

"Aha!" Mo smirked as she came closer to the key. 

"Talk about Night of the Living Dead..." Drell said as hordes and hordes of zombies were flooding in on dry land.

"How are we supposed to fight off all those?" Jim asked.

"Oh, you are so useless, here..." Drell handed the torch before crackling his knuckles and jumped in front of the zombies. "COME GET SOME!" 

"Have you lost your mind?!" Jim exclaimed.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing!" Drell replied. 

"Well, alright, if you say so!" Jim replied back.

Drell rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles at the zombies. "I didn't wanna have to hurt you, but... Oh wait, I like seeing other people in pain and misery!" he then charged for some of the zombies and tackled them down. 

Megan swam down even further before grabbing the key. Once she got the key, a zombie came into view which made her scream out bubbles. 

"Guys, we have a zombie down here!" Mo called out.

Megan jumped up to the surface, only to be surrounded by zombies herself. Atticus, Mo, and Cherry all joined her to see the same thing.

"Oh, my gosh..." Cherry muttered before screaming. 

The four of them began to back away from the zombies. Drell roared as he swung by on a vine like Tarzan and wrapped Cherry, Mo, Atticus, and Megan in his arm, then landed on a high pillar with them in his arm.

"Wow, I did not think I'd ever say this to you, Drell, but.... Thank you!" Cherry said.

"Don't get cute..." Drell glanced to her. 

"But what about my dad?" Megan asked.

"You guys wait here, I'll be right back." Drell then went after the zombies as they came after Jim. 

"Hey, stay back!" Jim ordered the zombies.

"Drell saved my life..." Cherry sounded surprised and touched. 

"Not just your life." Megan said.

"Let her have her moment." Atticus said.

"How are we all going to get out of here though?" Cherry asked before her medallion seemed to cast over her and lifted her into the air.

Atticus and Mo's did the same and they were now floating too.

"Guys!" Megan yelped at them.

Suddenly, Cherry was no longer a mere earth pony, she had her own wings, and of course, Mo was in her Pegasus form and Atticus in his male Alicorn form. 

"Whoa..." Megan was surprised. 

"Our medallions changed us into our Equestrian forms?" Atticus said confused.

"I don't understand..." Cherry said, then looked down as the zombies crowded Drell and Jim which made her gasp. "Uncle Jim! Drell! Look out!" she cried out which made a blast come from her medallion and the holy light flashed in the zombies' faces to blind them. "Whoa, that's new," she then said before looking over to Mo and Atticus. "See if your medallions do the same thing."

The zombies snarled at Drell and Jim. Atticus and Mo glared and they used their Equestrian magic to slow down and beat the invading zombies. 

"They're using the power of their medallions." Drell whispered to himself.

Atticus used his horn of course and Mo let out a sonic scream which came from her medallion and they used their Equestrian magic against the zombies.

"They are winning." Drell smiled.

Cherry flew over to the warlock and her uncle. "Are you guys okay?" 

"Um, are you a flying horse...?" Jim blinked at her awkwardly. 

"Yes, Uncle Jim, I am a... Pegasus?" Cherry nodded before realizing she wasn't an earth pony.

"Um... Wow..." Jim blinked.

"Come on, we gotta get out of here!" Cherry told the others. 

"Yeah, before those zombies catch up." Atticus said.

"Uhh..." Jim wasn't sure what to say or do, still shocked that Cherry was a flying pony.

"Hop on!" Cherry said.

Drell jumped on her back.

Cherry grunted and whimpered as her wings weakly flapped. "Couldn't you have ridden on somebody else?!" she strained. 

"Drell, you'll ride on me while Cherry's uncle will ride on her and Megan will ride on Mo." Atticus said.

"Fair enough." Drell said before getting off of Cherry.

Cherry panted and wheezed. "Jeez! What the hay, man?!" 

"Hay is for horses." Drell joked.

Cherry lowly growled to him as her uncle climbed onto her back for a ride. 

Mo flew back and turned around. "Quick, Megan, get on!" 

"You don't have to tell me twice." Megan said as she got on Mo's back.

"Hang on tight." Mo said to her as she flew with Cherry and Atticus as the zombies were now standing up again and chasing after them.

However, before they could make it out the door, the door instantly closed and locked on them and could only be open from the other side. 

"I'll try teleporting us out." Atticus said.

"You're the one with the horn." Mo said.

Atticus nodded, he then tried to charge up his horn to make them all teleport out, but for some reason, he, Mo, and Cherry became their human forms again and were unable to get out by teleportation. "What the?! How did that happen?!"

"Now's not a good time to unpony-up, you guys, get us out of here!" Drell demanded.

"I don't know how it happened, but we're stuck!" Atticus yelped.

Jim and Megan pounded on the door to get Michael to open the door, but he told them he couldn't since the door was now covered with spiders and he didn't have a magazine to swat them away.

"Listen, it's okay to be scared because I'm scared right now!" Jim told his son.

"But Dad, there's spiders, and I don't have a magazine!" Michael cried from the other side.

"Michael, you open this door right now or I'll kill you!" Megan threatened. 

"Let's not scare him even more." Mo said.

"Michael, listen to me, I know you're scared of spiders, but guess what? So am I." Cherry said.

"You are?" Michael asked in surprise.

"Yes, but I don't let that stop me!" Cherry urged as the zombies seemed to be coming closer and closer behind them, now walking up the stairs to get them. "Listen, I go on crazy adventures all the time, sometimes I'm scared to go on one because I don't even know if I'll make it out alive or not. You can't let your fear get in the way, being brave isn't about being fearless, it means being scared, but not letting that stand in the way. Listen, Michael, I may not know you that well, but you can do this! Do it for your friends and family!" 

"Yes and please do it before the zombies come and eat our brains!" Drell exclaimed.

Michael did his best to muster all of his courage as the spiders crawled around the door, he took a deep breath and walked to the door with the creepy crawlies and unlocked the door with ease and opened the door to let them all out before the zombies could attack them, even though he was now covered in spiders. Once everyone was out, they closed the door before any zombies could get out. Jim rushed to his son and gently patted the spiders off of him and gave him a hug, knowing he felt really scared because of what he had to do to save them.

"Did you guys get the key?" Michael asked.

"Oh, no..." Jim felt panicked as he patted his clothes. "Wait... Whoa..." he then found the key and brought it out to show everybody. "I've got it... I've got it." 

"Then let's get back to the mansion and show it to Madame Leota." Atticus said.

"I wonder where this key goes to?" Cherry thought out loud as she put the key in her jacket pocket, knowing it would be safe in there.


	12. Chapter 12

They all then came back inside the mansion after memorizing the way back to the gypsy within her crystal ball. Ezra and Emma met them inside.

"All right, now we went to Hell and back to get this thing," Jim told Leota as they showed the key they had retrieved. "Where's the door out of here?"

"First, you must find the trunk." Leota replied. 

"Trunk? What trunk? You never said anything about a trunk." Atticus glared as two shadow figures appear behind them.

"Not door?" Jim asked then.

"No, not door, trunk." Leota replied.

"She's right, the key doesn't go to a door, but to the trunk up in the attic." The boy told them from behind.

The others flinched and looked over.

"Children..." Ezra and Emma whispered once they saw the boy and girl who dressed like they were from ancient times compared to this century. 

"They look just like us." Mo said, referring to herself and Atticus.

Atticus slowly nodded.

"Who are you guys?" Cherry asked.

"I'm Thaddeus." the boy said.

"And I'm Josephine." the girl then said.

"We were going to be Edward and Elizabeth's children." the boy then explained who they were and why they were there. 

"Were?" Mo asked. 

"We were killed before we could get adopted and before we could tell Edward about what really happened to Elizabeth." Thaddeus said.

"You were killed?" Atticus frowned.

"Yes," Josephine frowned back. "We knew too much... We found out what really happened to Elizabeth, but we had to be disposed of which destroyed Edward. He lost his love and the children he could've raised as his own heirs, so he took his own life." 

"Who killed you?" Drell asked, surprisingly enough, not having known himself. 

"Ramsley," Thaddeus frowned. "He was also the one that poisoned Elizabeth."

"Ramsley..." the others whispered.

"The butler did it..." Cherry mumbled. "How cliche..." 

"Yeah." Mo nodded.

"Okay, tell us everything while we're going back up to the attic." Atticus said as he picked up Madame Leota as she was now just a crystal ball.

"Easy!" Madame Leota warned Atticus. 

"Don't worry, I'm very careful with crystal balls." Atticus said.

"We better get started." Thaddeus said.

"Right." Josephine agreed.

"This is bad luck," Madame Leota warned Atticus. "This is very bad luck! I'm getting nauseous!" 

"Oh, be quiet!" Atticus scolded.

"So why did Ramsley kill her?" Mo asked.

"Jealousy?" Cherry asked.

"Find the trunk and you will find your answer." Madame Leota stated.

"Alright then." Atticus said.

"Come along then." Emma said as she closed the door of Madame Leota's room. 

The walk to the attic was a long and yet annoying one. Leota's ball glowed as they came into the dark as night attic. 

"Please be careful with me, I'm fragile, very, very fragile." Madame Leota told Atticus.

"Sheesh, she's worse than you." Atticus said to Cherry.

"Thanks, I guess." Cherry shrugged. 

"I think I see it." Mo said.

"That's it." Leota said once they came across a trunk on one side of the room.

"Now we're in business." Jim approved.

Atticus handed Madame Leota over to his grandfather before going over to the trunk. Ezra gently held the crystal ball as the boy went to the trunk. Cherry handed the key to Atticus to unlock the trunk. 

Atticus accepted the key and then unlocked the trunk, after doing that, he opened it to see a whole bunch of stuff inside. "How am I suppose to find it in here? It's full of junk." he said.

"Find the thing that must be read," Madame Leota recited. "Lest your hearts be filled with dread." 

Atticus started to look through the trunk to see if he could find anything red. He rummaged through and through until he spotted a colored red envelope. "It's a letter."

"What's it say?" Drell leaned in. 

Atticus opened it up to see what the letter said. "'Yes, dear, I love you and I will marry you, and we'll raise Thaddeus and Josephine as our very own children since I have always wanted to be a mother and I know you would make a wonderful father for them that they never knew about having. I will love you for all of eternity. And tonight, at last, we will be together. I do. Forever yours, Elizabeth'." 

"She really didn't kill herself." Emma said.

"She wanted to marry him." Ezra added.

"Yeah, and somebody gave him the wrong letter." Atticus replied.

"Yes, well done, Mr. Fudo..." Rasmely suddenly appeared which made Thaddeus and Josephine frightened instantly. "I must say, I'm impressed, clearly you are more clever than you appear to be for a child." 

"Thanks, I am a junior detective, now, why'd you kill her?" Atticus asked.

"Because the master would not listen to reason." Ramsley replied.

"This is reminding me of Forte now..." Cherry whispered. 

"What do you mean he wouldn't listen to reason?" Atticus and Mo asked.

"He had everything in the world," Ramsley continued. "And yet, he was willing to throw it all away for love. I told him it would end badly."

"You're a real cold dude." Jim glared at the butler.

"No, Mr. Evers, I am a rational man," Ramsley corrected. "It was my responsibility for the house. My duty, sir, to see it that the boy did not make a foolish error in judgment. Running away with that girl and those brats would have destroyed this house. It would have destroyed everything. And I could not stand by and watch it all fall to ruin." 

"Punch him in the face, Dad and Atticus." Megan said.

"If you poisoned Elizabeth, then what have you done with Thaddeus and Josephine?" Atticus demanded first, wanting to know what happened to the orphaned ghosts. 

"Oh, easy, I had to kill them as well by choking them to death." Ramsley said evilly.

"You're a monster!" Drell glared at Ramsley, disgusted at him for willing to murder children. 

"Okay, now punch him." Megan glared.

"Yeah, but first, we're gonna tell the master what really happened." Jim argued.

"Yeah." Atticus agreed.

"The master must never know," Ramsley replied. "Edward and his love will be reunited and this curse will be broken."

"Yeah, but it's not her, that's my Aunt Sara!" Cherry glared.

"Yeah!" Drell glared.

"You're busted, old man." Mo looked as aggressive as a mother dog with a puppy who had been hurt. 

"Yeah, once we tell Edward about what you did, you are in so much trouble." Drell said.

Ezra and Emma bowed their heads quietly.

"And what she sees in you, I'll never know," Ramsley glanced to Jim. "But that is of little importance now. The only thing that matters is that the master's pain must end. And it will end tonight. The curse will be broken, and we can all finally move on."

"All right, that's it," Cherry growled. "Where is my Aunt Sara?!"

"Getting ready for her wedding of course." Ramsley replied like it was obvious. 

"Wedding?!" Atticus asked shocked.

"No! Ramsley, that won't lift the curse!" Thaddeus told him.

"SILENCE!" Ramsley glared at the orphan boy. 

This caused the orphan boy to flinch.

"He's right, this won't lift the curse, it'll only make it worse, the only way is to let Edward marry the real Elizabeth." Atticus said.

"Besides, Sara isn't even dead and Edward is." Jim then added in.

"True, but that can be easily corrected," Ramsley replied, even more graver than he was before. "Life, I'm afraid, is such a delicate state."

"You won't get away with this." Mo glared.

"If you put one finger on that mortal's wife, I swear I'll kill you." Drell threatened Ramsley, referring to Jim when he said 'mortal'.

"How wonderful, you're going to kill a ghost." Ramsley mocked. "I don't believe not even a warlock's magic can do such a thing, Drell." 

"Wait, Drell's a warlock?" Jim asked.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that?" Drell grinned nervously to Jim. "Well, yes, I am... I'm a warlock, Atticus is a Wiccan, who is also a merboy, Mo is a descendant of Captain Planet, and Cherry is a dream-bender and they all have Equestrian magic."

Jim rubbed his head. "Oh, my goodness..."

"Sorry, Uncle Jim..." Cherry said, knowing this all had to be overwhelming for him to bear. 

"Yeah, we'll explain everything later." Mo said.

"Now you're gonna pay!" Cherry glared to Ramsley. 

"I don't think so..." Ramsley said. "You may all have magical powers, but I still have the powers of a ghost." 

"Leave them alone!" Michael told Ramsley.

"Stop it!" Megan added in.

Rasmley summoned the trunk and trapped Michael and Megan inside of it. 

"Let them go!" Jim lunged out for Ramsley, but went right through him since the man was a ghost. "You're gonna let my kids go, leave my niece and her friends alone, take me to my wife, and let us out of here right now!"

"If you want out, fine," Ramsley replied. "Let me show you out..." he then grabbed Jim around his throat with unholy strength and lifted him into the air before throwing him out the window . "Now, for the last time, good night, Mr. Evers!" 

"Jim!" Drell gasped.

Cherry, Atticus, and Mo rushed to the window. Jim flopped from the window and landed hard on his back on top of his car which made the alarm go off.

"Ooh..." Cherry, Atticus, and Mo cringed at that, that looked very painful. 

The shutters then started to close.

"You let him go..." Cherry looked firm to Ramsley. "You can't stop us!"

"Yeah, there'll be no way to get rid of us!" Mo said.

"We might not be able to kill you, but we'll do much worse and you can't stop us from stopping that wedding!" Atticus finished fiercely. 

"That's right." Drell said.

"You all think so?" Ramsley glared firmly to them. "You may all be magical, but you can't kill someone who is already dead, and I'm afraid you're all going to be disposed of." he said before shooting a blast to them which made them black out.

The four were instantly knocked out and were in a very dark room.

"Ugh... My head..." Atticus groaned. "Where are we...?"

"Hey, you're awake..." Cherry knelt next to him.

"Cherry... What's going on...?" Atticus asked.

"Oh, nothing much..." Cherry shrugged. "EXCEPT THAT WE'RE STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!" 

"This is bad, this is really, really bad." Drell said.

"What happened?" Atticus asked.

"That's the thing, we don't know," Mo said. "We tried using our powers, but we've all been stripped of ours."

"I bet this is Ramsley's handiwork." Atticus glared.

"I'd say you're right..." Drell said as they were trapped. 'But we're doomed, doomed I tell you DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMED!"

Cherry slapped his face. "Calm down, we're gonna get out of here, we always do, Atticus will think of something!"

"I-I'm not sure if I can..." Atticus mumbled before bowing his head in self doubt.

Meanwhile with Edward, Sara, and Patch...

Edward opened the door to take Sara and Patch into a vast empty room which looked like a dark and lonely ballroom. 

"Is this a ballroom?" Patch asked.

"Yes," Edward replied as he walked them inside. "This house has waited so long to have its shroud of darkness lifted. And tonight, for the first time in, oh, so many years, I believe it may be possible that the story will finally end|differently.Sara? Do you believe that love is about second chances? About forgiveness?"

"Yes, I do." Sara replied.

"Everyone deserves a second chance." Patch smiled.

"Don't you remember?" Edward then asked Sara.

"Remember?" Sara looked curiously to him. "Mr. Gracey, are you all right?"

"Don't you recognize me at all?" Edward approached her. 

"Mr. Gracey, what's wrong with you?" Patch asked.

"I thoguht bringing her back to Gracey Manor would help her remember!" Edward grew animated.

"Remember what?" Sara asked. "Mr. Gracey, you're scaring me."

"When it happened!" Edward turned to her as he seemed to be losing all sense of reality now as he took Sara's hands. "When we spent our last moments together, when we danced together for the last time before you... Before you killed yourself! But now that you're back, at long last, we can be together and we can become the parents we'd always dreamed of becoming with those charming children we discovered! Why do you not remember?! You're my world, my life, and I have loved you as I did in life!"

"Let me go!" Sara got out of his hold and ran off, feeling very nervous and disturbed by Edward's behavior. 

Patch ran off as well since there were ghosts all around them now.

"You are her!" Edward suddenly appeared at the bottom of the staircase. "You are Elizabeth! You must be!"

Sara gasped as she ran up the stairs with the puppy.

"No, she isn't!" Patch told him.

"Can you not sense inside your heart?" Edward asked as he came from one side of the stairs. "I am your one true love! And now, we can finally be together, don't you understand?!"

Sara kept running with Patch.

"Elizabeth, please listen!" Edward urged.

"I'm not Elizabeth!" Sara called back as she ran down the hallway. 

"Quick, inside the bedroom!" Patch told her.

Sara nodded to the puppy and she ran into the bedroom and waited for him. Patch quickly went inside and leaned against the door so Edward wouldn't be able to come in. 

Edward looked devastated once he was shut out. "She doesn't remember..." he breathed shallowly in heartbreak, still deluding himself that Sara was his long-lost love. "It can't be her..."

"It is her, sir, she just doesn't remember yet," Ramsley said before straightening Edwards bow tie. "You had best get ready."

"But she doesn't remember," Edward whispered sharply. "The children don't seem to either."

"In time, they will, sir," Ramsley replied. "I assure you, they will."

Edward then walked off before Ramsley nodded and dematerialized.


	13. Chapter 13

Meanwhile...

"Four different doors..." Cherry said. "I guess we could split up and meet back in the center if anything happens, like what Twilight and the other Mane Six did when Discord put them in a hedge maze before he reformed..."

"Yeah, what's the worst that could happen?" Drell shrugged in agreement.

With that, they all went into the different doors, going their separate ways. The doors seemed to shut and lock right behind them. 

"Oh, sure, why not?" Atticus asked.

"Where am I?" Drell came into darkness, he then clicked a light on and saw a torn down basement area and he found himself in raggy clothes in a rather depressing state. "Oh, no, not here... Anywhere but here..."

"DRELL!" a sharp female voice called. "DO THE LAUNDRY! CLEAN OUT THE OUTHOUSE! SCRUB THE FLOOR! GET OFF YOUR FAT LAZY BUTT AND MOVE IT, MISTER!"

"Eek!" Drell scrubbed the floor nervously. "Yes, Mother! Oh, my,... We must be forced and subjected into our worst fears... Darn you, Ramsley!" he then shook his fist in rage.

"DRELL, THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE CLEANING TO ME, NOW MOVE IT!" Drell's mother's voice yelled.

"Yes, Mommy!" Drell whimpered and cleaned against his will as he started to cry out of fear and being overwhelmed. 

"Hello? Is anybody here?" Atticus asked as he was looking around about to see if he could face his fear.

The light came on to show Atticus's worst fear. 

"A-A thunderstorm." Atticus said out of fear.

There was very loud rumbling which seemed to vibrate all around the walls and floor that seemed to break open slightly. A giant splash whooshed over Atticus, but for some reason, he couldn't find himself to turn into a merboy and he appeared to be only slightly floating and he was grabbing his throat as he tried very hard to hold his breath. 

'I-I've gotta over come this fear before trying to overcome my fear of thunder storms.' Atticus thought to himself.

This looked like a fate worse than death.

"Ow... My head..." Cherry rubbed her head and sat up. "I must've tripped when I came here..." She looked around, but didn't see anyone around. "Hello...? Where is everybody? Oh, good, a light switch." she then clicked on a light.

Atticus was shown in his Equestrian form as he was laughing with Twilight.

"Twilight, what're you doing here?" Cherry asked.

"Ugh," Twilight scoffed. "Why did you invite HER?"

"I didn't..." Atticus replied, narrowing his eyes before looking back to Cherry in anger and disgust. "Cherry, you know we're not friends anymore, I don't need you, now get lost!"

"Is there a problem here?" Mo walked over in her Equestrian form.

"Nothing, dear, Cherry was just leaving..." Atticus sounded like an exclusive snob. 

"Hey, guys, what's going on?" Patch asked in his Equestrian form before seeing Cherry. "Oh, it's you...."

"Guys, what're you doing?" Cherry felt heartbroken. "I thought you were my friends!"

"Oh, please, we were never friends." Atticus scoffed.

Cherry knew Atticus long enough to know that he would never scoff at her. "You're,... You're not Atticus... You're just..." she glared with tears in her eyes.

"Just get out of here before we turn you into an orange or something." Twilight stopped her right there, putting her hoof up.

"Yeah!" Atticus, Mo, and Patch agreed.

"Fine!" Cherry growled, then wandered off and looked a little hurt and broken, showing she had a true fear of abandonment. "Oh, well, at least this can't get any worse than it already is." she then slammed against a glass barrier. "Huh?" she then put her hands up to feel glass and saw she was stuck in a jar. "HEY! Lemme out of here!" 

"No way." Drell's voice smirked.

"Drell... Is that you...?" Cherry sounded fearful. "Let me out of here, I'm claustrophobic!"

"No." Drell said evilly.

"DRELL!" Cherry wailed.

Drell laughed at her misery as he carried her in the jar as it seemed to close down on her. Cherry wheezed and panted as the walls were closing in and she let out a horrified scream.

Mo looked around and clapped her hands which made the lights come on. She then looked around and found herself in what appeared to be like a fancy rich woman's house.

"Monique, dear, welcome home..." Sarah walked in with Si and Am at her sides as she forced a frilly pink dress onto the street urchin girl. "Today you will learn how to balance a book on your head... THEN YOU WILL PLAY WITH YOUR DOLLY!"

"Aunt Sarah, what're you doing here?!" Mo shuddered in disgust and fear.

"Teaching you a lesson!" Sarah told her.

"I don't live with you..." Mo backed up.

"You do now, your parents never loved you and I'm going to teach you how to be a proper young lady." Sarah seemed to scowl.

"Serving you right, Human!" Si and Am laughed wickedly as they nuzzled against Mo.

Mo screamed. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" She then started to run away.

"Get her, my pets!" Sarah demanded.

The Siamese cats hissed and started to chase after Mo as she was in a living nightmare. Everyone was facing their fear, but they were having trouble with them.

Atticus struggled as he squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to think of his happy place while trying to think of a way to face his fear. He began to think of everyone he loved and cared about and where it seemed to be working. The storm seemed to fade away and a random drain appeared and the water was being washed away.

"Well, that worked..." Atticus smiled as he then shook himself dry like a dog, then looked around. "Now, there's gotta be a way out of here around here somewhere..." He then looked to see an exit door, he ran to it and it opened as he got to it and it closed and disappeared behind him once he walked through it. 

Atticus then found himself in a jar and looked to see his best friend. "Cherry?"

Cherry was hyperventilating and having a panic attack due to her claustrophobia.

"Cherry, all you have to do is think happy thoughts! Think about your friends and family and also Drell being tortured." Atticus said.

"I-I don't know if I can..." Cherry gasped as she was sweating nervously. "I feel like I'm gonna have a heart attack."

"Cherry, it's the only way to get rid of your fear! Its weakness is your happiness!" Atticus told her.

"I have no happiness..." Cherry sulked.

"Yes, you do!" Atticus coached. "Just try to think happy thoughts!"

Cherry groaned, she shut her eyes as she was both suffering and trying to put his words into good use. And where it started to work as she began to remember all the happy memories she had with her family and the day when she first met Atticus and even started to think of Drell getting tortured. The walls seemed to break down and Cherry was shown to be out of a jar.

"Remember, you're my best friend and I'd never replace you." Atticus said.

That did the trick and soon, Cherry's fear had dissolved.

Cherry then hugged Atticus in silence as she seemed to have tears in her eyes. "Promise?"

"I promise." Atticus said as he hugged her back.

Cherry wiped her eyes. A door then suddenly appeared and opened up for them to exit. 

"Come on, we gotta go!" Atticus told her and ran out the door with her.

Once they were out ,the door closed and disappeared after them.

Mo was shivering in a corner as she was in a fluffy pink room and was forced to be proper after being told that James and Elizabeth never loved her and she was forced to live with Aunt Sarah for the rest of her life with those annoyingly evil cats.

"MO!" Atticus's and Cherry's voices called out to her.

"Guys?" Mo opened her eyes and looked all around for her friends. "Guys! Where are you?"

Cherry and Atticus were a mouse and a dog and they scampered over to her feet.

"Oh, guys..." Mo recognized them even though they were animals now as she had tears in her eyes. "I've missed you so much."

"Mo, this is your fear, you have to fight it with happy thoughts." Atticus told her.

"It's the only way out!" Cherry added in with a slight squeak.

"H-Happy thoughts..." Mo told herself nervously.

"Monique, hold out your hands, you've been acting out!" Sarah firmly called as she walked over with a ruler in her hand.

"Quick, start thinking about happy thoughts and happy memories!" Atticus told her.

Mo tried to do that, trying very hard to concentrate. Aunt Sarah was about to beat Mo's hands with the ruler, but suddenly, Angel was shown and she did a high jump and tackled down Aunt Sarah and made Si and Am mew in fear and harm and they ran off. Angel barked savagely and chased them as the colors were deteriorating and she was protecting her young mistress from this nightmare.

"It's working, keep going, Mo." Atticus smiled.

Mo kept trying her best. Angel seemed to rip up all of the fabrics like a wild and mangy dog just to make Mo happy. Mo smiled as she felt relaxed now. Aunt Sarah, the Siamese cats, and everything else that was girly and annoying was gone, much to Mo's relief.

"Better?" Atticus smiled.

"I think so..." Mo smiled back. "Let's get out of here."

"Just gotta get Drell first." Atticus said.

"Do we have to?" Cherry asked. "I am curious though what his worst fear is."

"It would be his mother, I just know it." Atticus said.

Cherry laughed at that.

Suddenly, they were in Drell's fear and Cherry looked rather horrified to actually see Drell suffering from his cold and heartless mother.

"YOU'LL NEVER BE ANYTHING!" Maroot's voice yelled. "I DON'T APPROVE OF YOU HANGING AROUND HILDA SPELLMAN! I HAVE NO SON!"

Drell cried as he was doing laundry by hand instead of with magic.

"Drell! This isn't real! It's just your fear! You have to fight it with happy thoughts!" Atticus told him as they seemed to be separated from him by a chasm.

"Atticus...?" Drell looked around.

"Over here!" Atticus called out from the other side of the chasm.

"Atticus!" Drell whipped his head over. 

"GET BACK TO WORK!" Maroot's voice yelled.

Drell squeaked and did more chores for his mother who could rival Lady Tremaine in the abusive chores department.

"Drell! This isn't real, it's only your fear! You have to fight your fear with happy thoughts!" Atticus, Mo, and Cherry called out.

"H-Happy thoughts...?" Drell asked.

"Think about... Umm... Uhh..." Cherry tried to think of something to cheer Drell up. "Think about Hilda!"

"Yeah! Think about being with her and spending the rest of your life with her!" Atticus and Mo called out.

"Hilda..." Drell whispered the witch's name that he was extremely fond of.

"DRELL, QUIT DAYDREAMING AND GET TO WORK!" Maroot's voice yelled.

Drell whined and cried as he got back to work. Mo looked up and saw a rope tied up chandelier hovering above them all.

"Sorry about this, Cherry." Mo said.

"What?" Cherry asked.

Mo cut the rope and made the chandelier fall on top of Cherry, but luckily, didn't kill the perky goth.

"OW!" Cherry yelped in pain. "Oh, the agony of it all!"

Drell started to snort and then laugh a little quietly.

"That's right, hearing or seeing Cherry in pain is his happiness." Atticus smiled.

"What...?" Cherry's eyes widened.

"Cherry, I'm sorry, but we're gonna have to make you suffer in pain for Drell to be happy." Atticus said as he helped his best friend up.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Cherry groaned.

"Would you rather like for Drell to be stuck in his worst fear?" Atticus asked.

"Hmm... Suffer from painful humiliations or let Drell suffer...?" Cherry held out her hands as though she were trying to balance the two, then shrugged. "Have fun living in your nightmare, Drell!"

Mo grabbed Cherry by her collar, spun her around and let go, making Cherry fly in the air and splat against the wall and slowly slide down. Drell started to laugh a little harder.

"Sorry about this, Cherry," Atticus whispered before reciting a spell and using it on Cherry. "'A little of this and a of that, Now let's see how you like being a cat'."

"No, please, I beg you!" Cherry begged before she mewed and was suddenly turned into a cat. "Meow~..."

Drell laughed out loud and fell back and clapped his hands together.

"'Some people like pets and some people like logs, But now let's see how you deal with five guard dogs'." Atticus recited another spell, making five Rottweilers, fully grown appear, growling at Cherry, looking they were going to chase her.

"Nice doggies..." Cherry stepped back.

The dogs growled louder and menacingly. Cherry screamed and ran as the dogs then chased her violently. This caused Drell to laugh so much that his fear was soon starting to disappear completely. Cherry was standing on a high top as the dogs barked and jumped after her. After Drell's fear disappeared, Atticus used two more spells to get rid of the guard dogs and to turn Cherry back to the way she was. Cherry panted and wheezed as her heart beat through her chest and she was sweating anxiously.

"Oh, Atticus, you saved me!" Drell hugged the boy nice and tight.

"Well, yeah, even if you do torture my best friend, which I hate that you do that, by the way, but it doesn't mean I want you to be tortured by your own fear," Atticus said before he smirked. "At least, not now."

"Oh, brother..." Drell bit his lip.

The door then came up and opened.

"Quick, to that door!" Atticus pointed.

Drell grabbed Cherry by her hand and pulled her with them as they ran out the door which then closed and disappeared after them and they appeared to be outside the mansion as it was pitch dark outside and had stopped raining.

"Are you kidding me?! All that running and we ended up outside the mansion?!" Drell complained.

"Better than being in there with the color pink and cats." Mo said before shuddering slightly.

"True, but we gotta find a way back in." Drell said.

"HEY! LET ME IN!" a voice yelled as a car alarm was heard.

"Uncle Jim!" Cherry called.


	14. Chapter 14

"Cherry?" Jim asked. "But how did you and your friends get here?"

Mo was about to answer, then rubbed her head. "Uh... We don't know..."

"Don't worry, I'm gonna bust us in." Jim said as he kicked one stand off and tried to bash it against the windows to break the glass to get back inside the mansion. 

The cracks and shatters did not stay however, they only seemed to dissolve as though they were never broken.

"What the heck?!" Drell gasped.

"Now what do we do?" Cherry sighed.

Meanwhile, with Sara and Patch as they began to try to open the window...

Sara came up to the window and tried to knock on it. Ramsley suddenly came into the room which was startling at first.

"Oh, Ramsley, you have to help me," Sara rushed to the butler. "There's something terribly wrong with--"

"Yes, I am aware," Ramsley replied. "It's Edward, my dear, I know, he's expecting you. He's in the ballroom now, and you haven't put on your dress yet," he then walked to the bridal gown on the bed. "We can't keep the master waiting."

"Can't keep him waiting for what?" Patch asked.

"Why, the wedding, of course." Ramsley replied.

"Wedding?" Patch asked.

"Yours." Ramsley then said directly to Sara.

"My...?" Sara was broken about this again. "I am not Elizabeth!"

"Of course you are, my dear," Ramsley stepped over toward her. "You may not see it yet, but in time, you will."

"You don't seriously think she's going to go through with this madness, do you?" Patch asked.

"Oh, yes, I very much do," Ramsley replied as he stepped backward to a mirror to show Michael and Megan trapped someplace else, crying for help. "You see, we wouldn't want anything to happen to the children, now would we?" 

"Michael! Megan!" Sara cried out in distress of her only children, she then sharply turned to the butler. "You wouldn't..."

"Of course not, my dear," Ramsley replied. "But that is entirely up to you. If not, I really do fear for the children..."

"You are a sick, twisted man or should I say, ghost?" Patch growled.

"You go along with this and I might just spare you and your human friends..." Ramsley glared down at him.

"You wouldn't dare." Patch glared.

"I had before and I'll do it again if I must..." Ramsley glared back sharply, he then closed the door behind him and walked off into the hallways where Emma and Ezra were standing inside of. "Have her ready and this time don't screw up," he then said sternly before talking to Thaddeus and Josephine. "And children, you better be ready as well."

"Sir...?" Emma nervously spoke up. 

Ramsley sharply turned to her. "There are worse things than Purgatory, madame! I can assure you."

Emma quietly whimpered and stared to the floor, fearing him very much.

"Have her and the children ready." Ramsley said darkly before continuing down the hall.

It was now time to prepare for the wedding against Sara's wishes. And where Patch had to be a part of it as well, only as an observer and where Thaddeus was Edwards best man/ring bearer and Josephine was the flower girl while Emma was the bridesmaid and where Sara was unlucky to be the bride. 

Sara walked down the aisle and the Wedding March sounded more horrific and terrifying than warm and welcoming as it usually was on the organ. Ezra played the organ as Sara was walking down the aisle as she was forced to marry Edward. Edward smiled as he walked down the stairs and saw Sara in the wedding gown as he was finally going to have his wishes granted to him, at least, that was what he thought.

'Oh, Edward, mine and Josephine's father to be, if only I could tell you that isn't Elizabeth, if only I wasn't such a coward.' Thaddeus thought to himself.

Patch could see that Sara had a tear rolling down her cheek as he was in the room, but he was chained like a dog punished to sleep outside for the night and had a muzzle on. Edward's smile disappeared though once he saw Sara was extremely upset about this. 

"Tears of joy." Ramsley told Edward about Sara's sadness.

"Liar." Thaddeus whispered.

Meanwhile, back outside...

"Atticus, what're we gonna do?" Mo asked.

"I... I... I don't know..." Atticus sounded stumped for what seemed like the first time in his life. "Ramsley won..."

"WHAT?!" Cherry squawked, then walked up to him. "Atticus, I've known you for years, man, years! You never give up!"

"But what else can we do?! He's won!" Atticus exclaimed before sitting on the ground close to the wall. "We've failed."

"We can't just sit here," Mo urged her boyfriend. "If we don't do something, Mrs. Evers will be married to Mr. Gracey!"

"I know, we can't let that happen, but what can we do?" Atticus sighed. "It's just hopeless..."

"There's gotta be a way out of this and we have to save Michael and Megan..." Drell said. "But how?"

"I don't know..." Atticus sighed as he sat down. "I'm throwing in the towel..."

"Atticus, you can't..." Cherry sounded devastated. 'Giving up is my job!"

Madame Leota decided to give it go to try and boost up the boy's spirits as well as Jim's who was feeling like he failed too. "What are you both doing?" she then asked.

"Hey... You leave us alone..." Jim pointed sharply to the gypsy. "Just get out of here and leave us alone!"

"Oh, I see, you're both just gonna sit there, feeling sorry for yourselves." Madame Leota replied.

"Look, we tried to get inside, but we can't no matter how many times we try to break through the window, it just keeps regenerating!" Atticus told her.

"Look, this whole thing is my fault," Jim said. "We should've never been here in the first place. We were supposed to be at the lake. We were gonna sit by a warm fire, I made us all come here. And now, now it's too late."

Madame Leota wasn't going to let these two give up just like that. "No, it's never too late." she told the mortal man and Wiccan boy. 

"Look, didn't you hear Atticus?" Jim replied. "We tried to get in there, but we can't, alright? We tried and failed!"

"You try, you fail, you try, you fail, but the only true failure is when you stop trying." Madame Leota replied.

"Then what do you want us to do, huh?" Jim asked.

"Try again." Madam Leota said.

"Alright, but what else could we use? We'd need something like a vehicle to--" Atticus said before getting an idea. "I just got an idea."

"He's back..." Cherry said.

"Sir, get in your car, I have a plan." Atticus told Jim.

Jim didn't hesitate and they all got into his car together as he backed up against a very tall hill as Atticus instructed.

"What if this doesn't work?" Cherry asked.

Drell handed a waiver. "You have a pen or should I give you one?"

"Don't worry, this plan will work," Atticus said. "Besides, when have my plans ever not worked?"

"He's got you there, Cher." Mo had to say.

Cherry mumbled as she feared the worst. The car was now speeding down the hill.

"Hold on!" Jim told the others.

"With what?" Madame Leota deadpanned.

"Good point." Atticus stated.

Jim started the car again and he accelerated down the hill. Cherry mumbled quietly as she started to pray and looked like she was going to die.

"Get ready to get some air!" Atticus said, sounding like a skate boarder.

"Oh, I hope we make it..." Mo hoped.

"I'm getting too old for this job..." Drell murmured as his hair slightly flew with the speed.

They all screamed once they were driving over a ledge and crashed into what appeared to be the mansion's greenhouse and even smashed against a piano, but what mattered the most was that they were able to make it inside.

"We're alive? We're alive!" Cherry cheered.

"We're alive!" Mo cheered as well.

Drell laughed and cried happy tears as he hugged everybody since they made it inside okay.


	15. Chapter 15

"Elizabeth?" Edward held out his hand for Sara as she didn't come right by his side like she was supposed to.

Sara was extremely hesitant, but she forced herself to accept his hand. "Yes, my love..."

'I gotta stop this wedding.' Thaddeus thought to himself.

Jim came out of his car with the others. "We'll be right back."

"Okay," Madame Leota replied nonchalantly as an airbag was pushed against her from the crash. "Well, I'll wait here."

"Don't worry, we will be back." Atticus promised her.

"I'm not going anywhere." Madame Leota said as they went off.

"Dearly beloved," Ramsley began the service as Edward smiled and Sara bowed her head while Emma, Ezra, Patch, Thaddeus, and Josephine stood in the background against their will, not allowed to interrupt or suffer from his wrath. "We are gathered here together in the sight of God to join and bond these two into holy matrimony."

"Wait!" Cherry called as she stopped and put her hand to her ear as she heard screams and cries for help. "That's Michael and Megan!"

"Follow those screams and cries!" Drell told them.

Jim looked forward and saw the trunk held up by chains. "Michael! Megan!" he then rushed to save his son and daughter.

The suits of armor seemed to come alive and turn sharply to the heroes, which made them all freeze instantly and nervously as they held out their weapons to slaughter the trespassers.

"I'll handle these knights." Atticus said.

A knight was then looking like he was about to slice Cherry. Atticus was about to hurt this knight, but...

"Get away from her, YOU BEAST!" Drell growled before drop-kicking the knight away from the perky goth.

"I did not see that coming." Mo said surprised.

Cherry's eyes widened as they seemed to glow at Drell.

"Come on, let's kick some metal butt." Drell told Atticus as he was determined to fight.

"With pleasure." Atticus said, cracking his fingers before facing the knights.

Drell stomped forward as he looked quite menacing himself. "Stand back, all of you, this is gonna get ugly."

Mo grabbed Cherry by her arms and gently pulled her back as Drell and Atticus were going to challenge the knights.

"Stand back, you rust buckets before you get hurt!" Atticus glared at the knights.

The knights seemed unfazed as they came closer with their weapons.

Ramsley began the 'Dearly Beloved' speech and asked Edward if he would take Sara to be his wife.

"I will." Edward replied.

"And do you, Elizabeth Henshaw," Ramsley then turend to Sara. "Take this man to be your lawful husband, to love and cherish, til death do you part?"

"I do..." Sara answered with a broken heart.

Atticus and Drell began to defeat each of the knights with their full strengths. Jim flinched and held up his fists as the wiccan boy and warlock man were fighting the knights. Atticus grabbed onto one of the knights' axe after dodging it after being on the floor, then kicked the knight in the face which made the knight go back and the axe was going in the air, about to chop Drell in half. Cherry rushed over and jumped onto Drell's back, making them both hit the floor and the axe then got stuck right in the middle of the floor.

"Whoa!" Jim yelped.

Drell looked surprised that Cherry saved his life this time.

Ramsley was pouring something into a glass of wine for Sara to drink as he told the others that it was part of the tradition, but Thaddeus and Josephine knew very well that this was not because of what he was putting into the drink. Sara took the glass and was about to drink from it as she was still extremely upset to be forced into this.

Mo took the axe and struck it against the chains to open the trunk and freed Michael and Megan, allowing them to reunite with their father. 

"If anyone has any objections..." Ramsley said.

Sara was just about to drink which made Thaddeus and Josephine very frightened and overwhelmed.

Jim busted through the doors with the others behind him. "Yeah, I got a few objections!" he called after he had heard the butler's final words before the final pronouncing of Sara and Edward becoming man and wife.

Sara smiled instantly, she handed the glass to Emma, picked up her skirt, and ran over to her husband and they instantly hugged each other. 

"Whew, that was close." Patch sighed.

Edward narrowed his eyes. "Get away from her," he then slowly walked toward Jim and Sara, who then broke off to hug Michael, Megan, and Cherry. "I already lost her once, I don't intend to let it happen again." 

"This is not Elizabeth, Ramsley, you tell him the truth!" Jim demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ramsley replied.

"Oh, you got amnesia, huh?" Jim mocked. "Elizabeth didn't kill herself, he did! He's been lying to you all along! He even killed those kids you were going to raise as your very own!"

"He's telling you the truth!" Thaddeus told Edward.

"You have to believe him!" Josephine spoke up, though sounded frightened when she did.

"No, you both ran away back to that orphanage you came from," Edward replied. "You only died because you got lost in the rain and you caught your deaths!" he then drew out his sword to Jim. "I'm warning you, sir, step away!" 

"Are you serious, Edward?" Drell asked.

"As a heart attack." Edward replied firmly. 

"But my Aunt Sara is not Elizabeth!" Cherry told him.

"You be quiet unless you wanna go with him!" Edward threatened.

"Don't think just because you pull out your sword, I'm gonna let you marry my wife," Jim replied. 

"My patience is wearing thin," Edward glared before looking to Sara. "Elizabeth, please, come along!"

"I'm not Elizabeth..." Sara shook her head.

"You must be!" Edward insisted.

"Her name is Sara, she's from New Jersey, and she's the younger sister of Bud Butler, my father." Cherry glared back. "Ramsley only wants you to think she's Elizabeth so the curse can be lifted!"

"That is absurd." Ramsley scoffed in denial. 

"Please believe her, she's telling you the truth!" Thaddeus told Edward.

"Forgive me." Edward growled before getting ready to fight with his weapon of choice.

"Hey, listen, if you wanna kill me, kill me, I'll come on the other side and be whooping your ass for all eternity, but I think you should read this first," Jim took out an envelope. "Read it!"

"What is it?" Edward demanded.

"It's Elizabeth's letter," Atticus replied. "Her real letter, the one she wrote, the one he stole, you never saw it!" 

"Please, Father, read it!" Thaddeus begged. "That really is Mother's real letter, please read it!"

Josephine nodded in agreement.

Edward took the letter and decided to read it. He looked through it and knew that it had to be true and then looked up to Ramsley. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Must we continue to listen to the ramblings of a bunch of lunatics?" Ramsley replied.

"But it is written in her hand!" Edward grew angry with the butler now. 

"Yeah! It's written in her hands, what do you have to say about that, Ramsley?" Atticus, Patch, and Mo asked.

"WELL?!" Edward nearly snarled.

"I'm afraid it's none of your business." Ramsley said.'

"Give up, old man, we got you!" Cherry glared. 

Ramsley paused before speaking again. "Your union was unacceptable, I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't listen..."

"So you killed her..." Edward glared. "Not only her, but the children we were going to raise and become the parents that I never got to have of my very own for much longer in my own life." 

"I told you it would be a mistake to fall in love with that girl and to try to adopt those brats." Ramsley said.

"But I loved them!" Edward nearly scowled. "Was love and a new family my mistake?!"

"YES!" Ramsley's voice nearly left a haunting echo. "I tried to protect you, all these years I've sacrificed for you, but what would you understand of sacrifice for guilty or honor? You loved them... Well... Damn you... Damn you all TO HELL!" he said before his eyes glowed white and shrieking souls were coming in through the windows and lightning flashed as the fireplace's fire was growing and showing fire from the fiery pit of the underworld coming out for them. 

"Whoa!" Patch yelped.

Ezra and Emma stepped back with Thaddeus and Josephine, looking very horrified of the hellish display.

"What's going to happen now?" Mo asked, frightened.

"This isn't happening..." Cherry said. "One of us is just having a terrible nightmare... Y-Yeah..." she then chuckled nervously before panicking. "One of you better wake up right now!" 

"I'm afraid this isn't a nightmare, Cherry." Drell said with a serious tone.

"Heheheh..." Cherry laughed anxiously, then her eyes widened. "Seriously, Drell, if this is a nightmare you're giving me just for scaring Darla, you can stop it now, I learned my lesson! WAKE ME UP!" 

"THIS IS NOT A NIGHTMARE, YOU IDIOT, THIS IS ACTUALLY REALLY HAPPENING!!!" Drell yelled at Cherry.

Cherry fell to the floor and shivered. "Oh, my goodness...." 

The fires then betrayed Ramsley as they pulled him down to Hell to finally give him what he deserved. A flaming hand then reached out and grabbed both Jim and Drell.

"JIM!" Sara yelped for her husband.

The hand then forced Drell and Jim onto the edge as there was fire trying to make their hands sweaty to make them fall into the fires of Hell. But the two of them weren't going down as Atticus and Edward held their hands to stop the two from falling down to Hell. Atticus's hands seemed to keep slipping from Drell's hands.

"Listen, I deserve this, just let me go..." Drell had tears in his eyes.

"No, I won't let you!" Atticus yelped. 

"Just do it!" Drell pouted as he was about to cry.

Atticus squeezed his eyes shut as he let go of the warlock. Cherry rolled down her sleeve and cupped her hand over it and grabbed Drell's hand and pulled him up to safety, surprising everyone. 

"Did Cherry just do what I think she just did?" Mo asked.

"You mean save Drell's life?" Atticus asked then.

"Uh-huh." Mo nodded.

"No way." Atticus replied.

Cherry kept pulling up, then grunted as Drell flopped on top of her once he was over the edge and Ramsley fell from Jim's legs after Edward had saved him. 

"Quick, up and out of the hole." Drell said.

Edward mustered all of his strength and helped Jim out of the literal hellhole. The hole then closed as Ramsley was falling into the fiery underworld and it closed up after him.

"Phew!" Drell sat up, unintentionally squashing Cherry. "That was a close call! Thank you for saving me, Atticus." 

"Drell, the one that saved you is the one you are unintentionally squishing." Atticus told him.

"What?" Drell stood up and looked down to the floor.

Cherry groaned in pain as she was nearly flat as a pancake.

Drell reached down and picked Cherry up by her collar. "You saved me?!"

"Uh-huh..." Cherry mumbled as her eyes were crossed, her glasses were crooked, and she looked dazed. 

"Well, I just have one thing to say.....Thank you." Drell said, setting her back down gently.

Cherry coughed before looking very wonky from Drell sitting on top of her. 

"Are you okay, Cher?" Atticus asked.

"TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR!" Cherry groggily uttered out before falling forward on the floor. 

"Yep, she's okay." Drell said.


	16. Chapter 16

"MOM!" Megan and Michael cried.

Everyone turned to see Sara was now flat on the floor and was not moving at all.

"What's wrong with her?" Drell asked.

"Hey! Hey!" Jim ran over and knelt by his wife and held her in his arms. "Sara, are you alright, what's the matter, what's wrong?"

"It's the poison!" Ezra yelped. 

Thaddeus and Josephine frowned to each other and hugged each other as tears leaked down their faces.

"No..." Jim instantly felt his heart sink in his chest. "No, look, Sara, please, don't do this!" 

"Jim...." Sara said before dying from the poison.

Cherry walked over and checked for her aunt's pulse and looked over to the others. "She's dead..." she whispered with her voice slightly strangled, even though this was a sad occasion, the perky goth had a smile on her face and her friends knew that she was truly saddened by this even if she displayed a sign of happiness to show her emotional overcome. 

"Why are you smiling?!" Jim glared at her for smiling.

"I'm sad." Cherry said even though she smiled. 

A familiar glowing sphere floated towards them all, but mostly towards Sara's body.

"Sara.... Sara, I love you..." Jim was very heartbroken.

The others then looked to the glowing sphere as it was floating for the woman who had just died. A friendly ghost appeared to be leading it with him.

"Get away from us, leave us alone!" Jim glared. 

"Dad, no, it's alright, it won't hurt us." Megan promised. 

"She's right, it's our mother." Josephine smiled.

"Your... Your mother...?" Jim asked her. 

"Yes, you see, that ghost sphere is our mother, Elizabeth." Thaddeus said.

"Casper, what're you doing here?" Cherry asked the friendly ghost.

"Kat's mother said I could help you guys..." Casper replied. "I was watching over your little adventure and I thought you could use some help." 

"Well, you thought right." Mo smiled.

"Anything to help my friends who aren't scared of me." Casper smiled back. 

The ghost sphere of Elizabeth soon entered Sara's body. The others looked curiously as that had happened. There was then a heavenly glow which made everyone look up as Heaven's Light appeared before them. Cherry mimed a cross gesture due to her mother's family being Catholic and she felt it was appropriate. Sara's body started to levitate and suddenly it was brought in a horizontal fashion and the woman smiled as she looked to the others, but mainly to Edward, Josephine, and Thaddeus. 

"Elizabeth, is it you?" Edward asked.

"Yes, my love." the woman replied. 

"See, we told you." Thaddeus smirked playfully.

"Mm-hmm~" Josephine nodded in agreement.

"The truth has been released," Elizabeth replied, then looked thankfully toward Jim. "He saved me..." 

"Yep." Casper nodded.

Jim smiled bashfully.

"Elizabeth..." Edward smiled peacefully.

"Yes, my darling..." Elizabeth floated Sara's body toward him. 

"I've waited so long for this moment..." Edward put his arms around Thaddeus and Josephine's shoulders. 

"Now at last, all four of us can be together." Elizabeth said before kissing Edward.

Thaddeus and Josephine looked very happy and thrilled, but they started to feel different after their parents kissed for the first time in ages. 

"Congratulations, guys," Casper told them. "You're going to go to Heaven!"

It was a beautiful moment, but it felt weird since Sara was technically kissing Edward. Jim chuckled nervously as Michael and Megan cringed, but he got Edward to break out of the kiss.

'That must feel weird to them.' Atticus thought to himself, referring to Michael and Megan and Jim.

"Uh, excuse me, that's my wife." Jim told Edward.

Edward and Elizabeth broke out of their kiss and locked embrace.

Jim looked to the woman. "Sara...?"

Suddenly, a golden glow cast over the woman and she fell limp and dead once more, but luckily Jim caught her before she could hit the floor. 

"Jim..." Sara woke up, being herself now.

"Sara," Jim smiled, hugging his wife. "I thought I lost you."

Sara hugged him then. "I thought I lost you too."

"You're back, Sara," Jim broke out with a tearful smile. "You're back..."

'Aw, love.' Mo thought to herself.

"Can you ever forgive me?" Edward asked Jim.

"What's to forgive?" Jim smiled. "You loved her."

"Yeah..." Edward agreed, then held out a rolled up paper tied in a neat red bow. "Here, take this."

"What is it?" Jim asked, accepting it.

"The deed to the house," Edward informed. "It's yours, do with it what you will. Sell it, keep it, do whatever makes you and your family happy," he then stepped back against the heavenly glow as the woman that he was very much in love with stood there and took his hand as they were reunited at last. "And thank you, thank you all. Thaddeus, Josephine, let's go home."

"Yes, Father." Thaddeus and Josephine smiled.

"Goodbye, have a nice afterlife." Mo told them.

"Yes, enjoy it." Atticus agreed.

Thaddeus and Josephine hugged Atticus and Mo for their help, then went to join Edward and Elizabeth to now go into Heaven.

"Say hi to my grandparents for me," Cherry said, a little softly and tenderly. "I miss them very much..."

"Wait for us! Hold on!" Emma's voice called out.

"Wh-What's all this?" Ezra asked once he saw she had a bunch of luggage with her.

"Well, you'll never know what we need." Emma replied.

"What're you talking about?" Ezra replied. "We're going into Heaven! You can't take it with you."

"The hell I can't!" Emma laughed as she gave him a bag, then hugged the living ones goodbye.

Atticus hugged his dead grandparents as he was going to miss them.

"You be good now, you hear?" Ezra said softly.

"I will..." Atticus said as a tear rolled down his left cheek as he hugged the couple one last time. 

"And eat something, will ya?!" Emma pinched his cheek like a smothering grandmother. "You're strong and all, but put some meat on those bones! Isn't your mother feedin' you?"

"Yes, she is and I'll be sure to eat plenty of meat." Atticus smiled.

"Thatta boy," Ezra smiled back, then looked to the light. "Oh, come on, let's go, wait for us! Let's go!"

Emma ran with her husband into the heavenly light as she waved to their new friends. 

"Bye!" Ezra waved.

"Okay, here we go!" Emma called.

Suddenly the two became spheres and were going up to Heaven's clouds as the ghosts who were wandering the Earth for all eternity were going to beyond the beyond as well. 

As the ghosts were going back to their afterlife as they deserved it, Cherry was wandering around the graveyard and found one grave that stood out the most, she took out a brush and brushed away the dust and residue and saw a marked grave. "'Here Lies Madame Felicity Forte- A Real Fallen Angel'... Felicity Forte..." she then muttered to herself. She then realized that this was Maestro Forte's mother and she decided to patch up the grave a little and laid flowers in respect for the long dead woman and took out a jewelry box that Forte gave her for Christmas and put it against the grave in a sign of respect as well.

"Did you learn your lesson here?" Forte's voice asked.

Cherry blinked and she slowly turned to the court composer. "I... I guess so... Um... Is this why you didn't want to come to this house?"

"My mother was a close friend of Elizabeth's," Forte knelt down next to her. "My mother died in this house... She died when I was around your age and I told her I was going to be working in France for Master Adam's father... She then told me that Vincent Forte was not my father... We told each other we loved each other and we would be happy together again soon... I was given a letter the next Christmas which was my first Christmas without my family."

"I-I'm sorry, Forte, I had no idea..." Cherry dipped her head to avoid his eyes.

"It's okay, my past is sometimes not the best thing I like to mention." Forte said.

"I'm sorry..." Cherry said.

"That's alright, I'll take you home..." Forte replied.

Cherry stood up and walked off with him as things were winding down nicely. Jim, Sara, Michael, and Megan were finally able to take their family vacation and they brought the singing busts and Madame Leota with them to become apart of their family.

Twenty Years Later...

Cherry was shown as a very beautiful, youthful adult woman as she had her daughter on her lap with her extended stomach with Akito, Estelle, and Vincent sitting by her feet as she sat in a higher chair. "And that was how Forte and I found and discovered this house before we moved into it." she then concluded, revealing that this was all a story.

"Ooh." The kids said, interested.

"I found it so romantic that Edward and Elizabeth got back together along with Thaddeus and Josephine." Estelle sighed.

"I still can't believe that Emma and Ezra were our long-lost great-grandparents..." Vincent said. 

"I know, what're the odds?" Akito had to agree.

"Did you learn your lesson, Maman?" Felicity asked.

"Yes, Maman learned her lesson..." Cherry sighed to that.

"So, what about Dad's fear of thunderstorms, did he get over it?" Akito asked.

"In the mansion, yes, but not entirely he got over his fear while he was friends a goat and a wolf," Cherry said. "Or at least that's what he told me after getting back from his training with Goku."

"You did not go with him?" Felicity asked.

"Not really..." Cherry replied. "Besides, Drell wanted to have Atticus and we all know how much Drell favors Atticus over me."

"True, true." The kids nodded.

"Now if you want to know what happened, you'll have to ask your Father/Uncle yourselves." Cherry told the kids.

The kids nodded again to that.

"Okay, story time is over..." Cherry picked Felicity up off her lap and set her down on the floor with her cousins as she then took out a cigarette and took out a lighter, clicking it on to show the flame. "Mama needs some alone time." she then lit the cigarette and started to smoke.

"Okay, Maman." Felicity said.

Akito, Estelle, Vincent, and Felicity then left while Cherry took her smoke break.

"Do you think Aunt Cherry's story was true?" Estelle asked. "I mean, a friendly ghost?" 

"Yeah, but he was in Dad's story about how he made Mom into a mermaid..." Vincent reminded her.

"I wonder if we'll ever meet that Casper ghost then..." Akito shrugged.

"Who knows?" Felicity shrugged.

Forte brought out a silver tray of cookies for the children. The kids remembered their manners and thanked the man as they accepted the cookies and ate them.

"So, how was story time?" Forte asked.

"Spooky in a way..." Felicity said. "Maman told us about the Haunted Mansion."

"Ah, yes, that time when she learned her lesson about scaring people." Forte smiled.

"She has...?" Akito asked. "No offense, Uncle Forte, but Aunt Cherry almost never smiles."

"I know, but that day she learned that sometimes it's okay to hold back from scaring some people too much." Forte said.

"I wonder if my baby brother or sister will learn such a lesson..." Felicity said as she ate her cookie, though she appeared to have left fang marks instead of normal child teeth marks.

"I'm sure that your baby brother or baby sister will learn his or her lesson as well." Forte said.

"Well, I'm gonna go find Dad." Akito said, finishing his cookie.

"You wanna hear about that Goku story, don't you?" Vincent assumed.

"Yes, but also about how he made friends with a goat and a wolf while getting over his fear of thunderstorms." Akito said.

"I would very much like to hear that as well." Felicity agreed with her cousins.

"Same here." Vincent and Estelle agreed.

"Hopefully Dad'll be home tonight, he's been on a case for a couple of weeks now..." Akito said. "I hope I'll be ready to take on the challenges of a detective when I grow up."

"I'm sure you will." Forte said.

"Thanks." Akito smiled.

"Of course..." Forte smiled back to the boy.

The kids then finished their cookies and were in Felicity's room until Mo would come pick the kids up to bring them back home during this visit.

The End


End file.
